


Chaos Theory

by gingeringfigs



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-02
Updated: 2013-09-04
Packaged: 2017-12-13 18:34:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/827490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingeringfigs/pseuds/gingeringfigs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Namikaze Minato never expected that he would actually have a son and that his son, Uzumaki Naruto, was already an adult. Neither did he expect that his son would end up bringing so much chaos and trouble into his life like his namesake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was noisy and crowded at the arrival terminal of the Konoha Airport, the largest airport centre in Hi no Kuni that saw at least a couple of millions travellers passing through its gates per day. The nineteen-year-old Uzumaki Naruto was one of them. Rubbing his bloodshot eyes and stifling a sleepy yawn, Naruto pulled his luggage along as he left the baggage claim section via automatic doors to face the crowd of people eagerly waiting for their relatives/ friends to emerge. As he futilely tried to comb his messy blond hair in some semblance of order and smooth out the wrinkles in the orange hoodie over his black jeans, his tired blue eyes scanned the crowd trying to find his father, whom he had never seen before in his entire life.

Naruto couldn't see anyone who might be his father – according to his late mother Kushina, he looked a lot like him. But in this crowd, there was no one with blond hair and blue eyes. He couldn't help but feel disappointed. Sighing to himself, he wandered over to the empty seats nearby and plopped himself down, prepared to wait. Having no other living relatives in Uzu no Kuni, Naruto had been quite surprised to receive an envelope containing a one-way ticket to Konoha and a handwritten letter simply saying,

_Naruto,_

_I'm sorry for your loss. Please come and stay with me in Konoha. I will be very glad to have you._

_Your father_

It was so rare to receive a handwritten letter these days and the paper looked expensive. The penmanship was exquisite, suggesting that his father was a very rich and well-learned man. The ticket was for a first class seat on a direct flight from Uzu no Kuni to Konoha. After some deliberation, Naruto leapt at the opportunity - there was nothing left in Uzu no Kuni for him and he wanted to see Konoha anyway, even if he had never met his father before.

Besides, it was a good chance for him to enrol into the prestigious Konoha University to study law as well as following in his late mother's footsteps who had taught him everything he knew. Naruto waited and tried to stay awake but his jet-lag soon won out and he dozed off. A hand gently shook his shoulder, rousing him from his nap and a lazy voice drawled, "Are you Uzumaki Naruto? If you aren't, I'll eat my book. You look way too much like your father."

Naruto jolted awake at hearing that, and stared at the man who had come to pick him up. The man was wearing a well-tailored suit that screamed of money. He was tall, had weird gravity-defying grey hair and wore a medical mask on his lower face, obscuring his mouth and nose. He was also reading a very well-known bright orange book that made Naruto blush and screech indignantly, "Who the hell are you and why are you reading that porno book in public, masked pervert? WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SO LATE? I've been waiting for-"

A quick glance at his watch told him the time, and Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief.

"THREE FUCKING HOURS! _THREE HOURS_!"

The masked man waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

"Maa, maa. I just got lost on the road of life, Naruto. Come on, I'll take you to see your father. He wanted to come and pick you up himself but the meeting dragged on longer than he expected. He looks forward to seeing you very much. I'm Hatake Kakashi, by the way. And this book? It's art."

Kakashi easily lifted Naruto's suitcase and began walking off to the car-park. Naruto shook his head in bewilderment and followed Kakashi. Just then his stomach growled long and loudly, prompting Kakashi to stop and glance at him. Naruto blushed in embarrassment. Kakashi's eyes crinkled into a smile and he said, "I'll take you somewhere nice to eat before you meet your father. It won't do for you to faint from hunger."

"Hey, I'm not that weak! Masked pervert…"

  


* * *

  


Later after a very good meal of the best ramen he'd ever tasted at Ichiraku's and making Kakashi pay for every single minute he was forced to wait at the airport with his wallet _("Kami, I'm never taking you out to eat again." "It's your punishment, you bastard. And stop reading that perverted book in public!" "It's art."_ ), Naruto found himself walking behind Kakashi into a rather swanky and posh lobby of a five-star hotel - "Fire Lotus". The receptionist blinked in surprise at seeing Naruto before she gave him a rather warm smile that confused him. Why was he receiving such a warm welcome? Her smile seemed too friendly to be just mere polite service.

Kakashi didn't seem to notice, and just walked right into the open elevator with the suitcase in tow. Naruto nodded to the receptionist and gave her a polite smile in return, before hurrying after him. After swiping a key-card in the card-reader, Kakashi pressed the button for the top floor of the building, and as the elevator rumbled around them, Naruto finally posed the question he had been waiting to ask, "Who's my father? I didn't even know that he was still alive. My mother never told me much about him before she died."

Kakashi peered at him over his book and he replied, "You'll find out soon enough, Naruto. There must be a good reason for why your mother didn't tell you. Apparently, she also never told your father about you because I'd never seen him look so shocked when he learnt that Kushina-san had left behind a nineteen-year-old child that was his son when she passed on. Your father is _very_ anxiou _s_ to meet you."

"Oh… I guess that explains why I've never seen my father then. My mom could be a very secretive person. Kakashi, how do you know my father? Are you working for him?"

Kakashi's eyes crinkled again in a smile and he answered, "All in due time, Naruto."

The elevator smoothly slid to a stop and the doors slid open to reveal a lavish penthouse suite with a panoramic view of the entire city of Konoha. In the distance, the tallest building Hokage Tower gleamed like a jewel and the kanji for Fire was proudly emblazoned at the top for the entire world to see. Naruto gasped in awe as he put his palms against the thick glass windows. He had never seen such an amazing sight.

"Wow…"

After depositing Naruto's luggage in a bedroom with a king-sized bed and checking that everything was in order, Kakashi bade him farewell, "Take care of yourself, Naruto. I have to return to work or Rin and Obito are going to bitch at me… Your father will be coming in a short while. In the meantime, enjoy yourself and don't watch too much porn."

"I should be saying that to you, pervert! But… thanks. I really appreciate it. Will I be seeing you around?"

Kakashi glanced back at him and his answer was a vague, "We'll see, Naruto."

Then he was gone. Naruto sighed and flopped down on the large sofa before the large plasma TV screen – he suspected that it was probably one of those ultra expensive cutting-edge 3D televisions. He muttered, "What a weirdo Kakashi is…I wonder when I'll see my father? He must be super rich to afford all this!"

After a short moment of gazing out of the large windows, Naruto jumped to his feet and began looking for the bathroom. He needed a long hot bath to refresh him before taking a nap to sleep off the jet-lag, stat! He easily found it was adjacent to the bedroom and he had to stop and stare for a moment at the bath-tub. That was _not_ a bath-tub! It was more like a mini-swimming pool that was also a Jacuzzi. The rest of the bathroom itself was just as tastefully designed as the suite, with minimalist, clean lines in soothing shades of pale blue, white and dove-grey.

Shaking his head at the sheer luxury, Naruto turned on the taps and chucked in some of the bubble soap on the counter. When the bath was ready, he stripped and dropped the clothes carelessly on the floor, sliding into the bath with a satisfied sigh. This was bliss! It was almost like soaking in the hot-springs near to his child-hood home in Uzu no Kuni. Naruto could feel his tension and aches melt out of his body as the Jacuzzi jets pummelled his stiff muscles. Despite the first class seat on the plane, it hadn't been the same as sleeping in a real bed especially with all that noise of the plane's engines that made him unable to nap. His mind hazy with sleepy bliss, Naruto couldn't help but doze off, forgetting that it wasn't a good idea to sleep in a bath-tub.

  


* * *

  


Thunderous gunshots cracked through the air as bullets flew wild, all aimed at the blond man running for his life. He had just left the tediously long meeting with Fire Daimyo and Konoha's Ruling Council in a foul mood, only to be ambushed in the car-park. Stormy blue eyes flashing with annoyance, the man growled to himself, "God. Can't anyone just give me some peace and time?"

As the fourth director of LEAF, which was Hi no Kuni's federal investigations agency, Namikaze Minato had plenty of enemies gunning for his head. He was an especially popular target for agents from Iwa no Kuni, thanks to his exploits as "Yellow Flash" before he assumed the director seat. Crouching behind a pillar to shelter from the bullets peppering his car, Minato whipped out a stiletto and an automatic pistol from under his coat.

How the hell had that assassin gotten past his bodyguards? Where the hell were his men? Shoving those questions aside for later, Minato waited out the barrage of bullets. When they finally stopped, Minato stayed low as he dashed forward to where the assassin was, having calculated his position from the trajectory of the bullets. The assassin was still in the middle of reloading his rifle when Minato threw his stiletto into his hand, pinning it to the floor.

As if in slow motion, he could see the assassin pulling out another pistol and aiming it at him. In a blur, Minato fired off four shots, knocking the pistol out of his grasp and crippling his hands and legs. The assassin screamed in pain and fell backwards, clutching at his bleeding hands. The sounds of feet running towards them indicated that his men had finally arrived on scene, alerted by his distress signal. Rin, the sole medic of the team asked in concern, "Minato! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Take this guy in for questioning by Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko. I want to know who sent him and who's responsible for the security breach. What happened to my bodyguards?'"

"They're dead, sir. It appears that the assassin took them out earlier."

"All the more need to crack this guy and find things out. Dismissed."

"Right away, sir!"

Minato rubbed his forehead as he turned around. His car was ruined. How was he going to meet his son now? Not to mention that he had been forced to send Kakashi _(forgetting that he should never ever, send Kakashi to run important errands, because of his notorious tendency to be late – it was even rumoured within the agency that Kakashi would be late to his own funeral)_ to pick up his son, instead of going himself, due to the last-minute meeting. Minato's day just sucked. Seeing his distress, Rin laid her hand on his arm and cheerfully offered, "I'll give you a ride, sensei. I heard from Kakashi that your son arrived this morning. You must be looking forward to seeing him."

Looking down at Rin, Minato smiled gratefully.

"I appreciate your offer, Rin."

"Aww, shucks. It's the least I can do for you, sensei."

A few quick minutes later, Minato was finally in the hotel where his son was; and he gave a nod of acknowledgement to the undercover LEAF agent at the reception before he went into the elevator with Rin. Rin had pestered him into letting her see Naruto since Kakashi had already met Naruto first. Minato was happy to let her come along as she had very kindly gone out of her way to give him a lift.

Despite being the director of LEAF and having faced many assassination attempts, Minato felt very nervous about meeting his son, whom he hadn't known about until after Kushina died. He was touched that Kushina had named his son Naruto, after his favourite character from Jiraiya-sensei's book, even though Kushina had left him all those years ago. What was Naruto like? Did he look like Kushina? What were his hobbies and dislikes? What did he want to do with his life? Minato's mind was awhirl with questions as he watched the lift's number ascend. Rin patted his shoulder and said reassuringly, "Don't worry, sensei. Everything'll be fine."

"Ah… thanks."

Despite Rin's reassurances, Minato's stomach was still filled with butterflies when the lift came to stop and admitted them to the penthouse. Minato couldn't see his son anywhere. An ominous feeling settled over him when he found that the suitcase in the bedroom had been left unopened and the bathroom door was slightly open, the fragrance of soap hanging in the air. Minato dashed into the bathroom and saw through the steam to his horror that someone was lying in the bathtub in a disturbingly limp manner, his head almost underwater.

"Shit! Naruto!"

Throwing his dignity to the wind, Minato pulled his naked son out of the bathtub, dimly noticing the faint marks on his face as he tried to perform CPR on him. In the end, though, his worry was unwarranted as his son had snapped awake; and before he was even fully conscious, he reflexively punched him so fast that Minato was unable to respond. Rin was laughing like a hyena as she caught Minato when he stumbled backwards, cupping his jaw. Naruto's eyes, shaped like Kushina's but blue like Minato's eyes, were sparking with irritation.

"Who the hell woke me up? I was having a really good dream, damn it!"

Naruto finally noticed them. Realising his state of undress and seeing that one of his unexpected guests was a woman who was also staring at him unabashedly, Naruto turned so red that he looked like a cooked lobster. Quickly wrapping a towel around his hips, Naruto asked, "… Oh… you're my dad?"

Minato winced as he rubbed his chin – damn, his son sure hit hard for a civilian. He grimaced ruefully at Naruto and answered, "Yes, I am your father, Namikaze Minato. It's a great pleasure to finally meet you."

Rin cheerfully greeted him from beside Minato.

"Hi, I'm Nohara Rin. You shouldn't be ashamed of your body. Flaunt it when you've got it, hottie!"

She flashed Naruto a thumbs up and a cheeky wink. Naruto blushed again, and feeling decidedly protective of his son, Minato sternly warned his subordinate, "Rin… "

Rin bit her lips and immediately tried to school her face into a professional expression; she wasn't very successful, not being one of the infiltrating specialists in LEAF after all. Raising his bemused eyebrows at the byplay between his father and Rin, Naruto hesitantly asked them, "Er, if you would excuse me… I need to get dressed. So, can you please wait outside?"

"Of course, Naruto! It was rather rude of us to barge in without asking. I'm _very_ sorry about what happened."

Minato dragged Rin outside to the living room with him, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. What a great first impression. He hoped that Naruto hadn't taken offense.

  


* * *

  


Dressed in a clean set of clothes consisting of a blue-and-white-striped shirt and khaki pants, Naruto soon joined the two in the living room. There was a long, awkward silence as father and son stared at each other, wondering what to say. Rin watched them act this way for a few minutes before she got fed up and nudged her boss roughly with her bony elbow, making him wince. She hissed into his ear, "Sensei…didn't you just say earlier how much you wanted to meet your son? He is right in front of you. Say something, anything!"

"…What can I say? I can't think of anything at all."

"…I can't believe you, Sensei! Fine, I'll handle it."

Naruto watched his father and the lady who seemed to be his secretary furiously whisper to each other in front of him, feeling a bit left out. Naruto observed that his father wore a crisp black tailored suit with a navy blue tie, while Rin wore a flattering pencil skirt with a jacket, light make-up that accentuated her lips and simple pearl earrings. Nice.

"So Naruto, how was your flight?"

Rin smiled a sunny grin at him. Naruto glanced over to his father who looked really nervous. Naruto found it funny. How ironic; he should be the one who's nervous, not his father! Going with the flow, he grinned back and answered, "It was a good flight. But I didn't appreciate having to wait for three hours for Hatake-san to show up. Were you busy, Father?"

"WHAT. Kakashi was late! AGAIN," Rin exclaimed indignantly.

Minato blinked in surprise at being spoken to directly by his son. Naruto was smiling at him, an open expression on his face that made him finally relax for the first time since he found out he had a son at all. Naruto didn't seem to resent him… Meanwhile, Rin was muttering darkly to herself about confiscating Kakashi's books and burning them as punishment. Naruto grew quite nervous about the dark aura that sweet-looking lady was emitting but his father didn't seem to be particularly concerned. Minato nodded his head and asked Naruto to, "Just call me Minato. I wasn't around to be your father so I don't think I have the right to be addressed in such a way. I'm really sorry about not being able to pick you up myself. There were… unexpected complications."

Now it was Naruto's turn to be pleasantly surprised by Minato. He hadn't expected his mysterious father to be such a laid-back person in reality, despite obviously being a person of high-status from the way he dressed and behaved. How had his mom met this guy while she was doing her gig in Konoha? Kushina had been very tight-lipped about the whole thing. Naruto smiled and stretched out his hand to his father, "It's nice to meet you, Minato. I'll like to get to know you better. And er, is Rin your secretary?"

Minato too smiled and shook hands with Naruto, answering for Rin, "Not exactly. Rin works in a similar job to Kakashi."

Seeing that they were now speaking comfortably and her job was done, Rin got up and said regretfully, "Ok, I gotta go, guys. Enjoy yourself. It was very nice to meet you, Naruto."

She winked and made to leave, but not before Minato told her, "Thanks, Rin. You've been a great help today."

She smiled at him and bowed slightly, "It was no problem, sir."

Naruto waved good-bye to her and commented to Minato, "Rin seems quite a nice lady."

"She is. If not for her, I probably wouldn't be here." _Aside from the free lift, Rin was a literal lifesaver. How many times would he have died if not for her quick work?_

Minato smiled and changed the topic, "Just now, I couldn't help but notice that your hand is unusually calloused. Do you do martial arts?"

Naruto was startled by the question and his father's keen observation. Crap, he hadn't expected that! Was his father some sort of martial arts exponent? Naruto hesitantly answered, "Sort of. I do MMA as a hobby but I'm not that good yet." _As well as some others like Parkour but you don't need to know that. I'm actually very good at it too…_

Minato grinned and suggested, "That's great. We can spar some time if you like. I practice a little myself."

Naruto eyed him once more, noticing that beneath the nice suit his father was actually quite fit and well-built. Naruto recalled that his father's hand had calluses on the fingertips and his palm during the handshake, indicating that Minato did practice some sort of martial arts, and had been doing it for a long time. Naruto had the feeling that if he ever sparred with his father; Minato would wipe the floor with him in seconds. Interesting. Naruto didn't meet many people who could challenge him back in Uzu no Kuni. He finally answered with a chuckle, "Yeah, that'll be fun. I get the feeling you're pretty skilled yourself."

Minato turned his head towards the bedroom door and asked, "So, Naruto, do you want to move your things over to my place now? I'll call a cab."

Naruto joked, "What, you mean this is not your home? I'm disappointed."

Minato laughed as he went into the bedroom to retrieve Naruto's luggage, "Unfortunately, no. I don't have the kind of money to afford staying in such an expensive place myself. But my home isn't too shabby either. I just wanted to make your stay as comfortable as possible before I could come along and pick you up. I'm sorry about not being able to meet you at the airport myself."

"It's alright, Minato. No harm done."

Naruto grinned, liking the man. Namikaze Minato didn't seem to have any pretentious airs and was very considerate – a pretty decent guy. Why hadn't his mother told him about Minato again? Why had his mother left him? When they were finally in the lift, Naruto asked, "So, my mother didn't tell you that she was pregnant before she left? How did you find out about me?"

Minato looked pained for a brief second. Clearly flustered, he raked a hand through his hair and answered, "We had only been together for about six months before she disappeared without a word. I was quite shocked to receive a letter from her a few days ago from Whirlpool, with a photo of you and certified blood-tests that proved you were my son. Well, the blood-tests weren't really necessary, because even from the photo, I could see straight away that you were 100% my son. I really, truly had no idea that Uzumaki Kushina had gone to Whirlpool. It was as if she had disappeared without a trace."

Naruto bit his lips, feeling bad for his father.

"Oh, that must have sucked. I'm sorry, Minato, for what my mother did."

Minato smiled and squeezed his shoulder, "It's alright. You don't have to apologise for something that wasn't your fault. It's all in the past, and I'm quite glad to have you here now."

Naruto nodded, relief and happiness surging through him; then he asked the question that had really been bugging him, "What's your job? It must be quite well-paid if you could afford to book that room."

"I work for the government, and that's all I'm allowed to say, Naruto."

Minato winked at Naruto, amused by his put-out expression. Naruto crossed his arms and answered dryly, "Oh, right. You're trying to make me think you're actually some super secret agent like James Bond with your mysterious answer. Please, I'm not five years old. I'm already almost twenty."

Minato laughed at the irony of Naruto's reply, while mentally slapping himself for almost revealing more than necessary. Disguising his unease, he cheerfully replied, "Well, feel free to believe whatever you like."

" _Riiight…_ "

Naruto drawled sarcastically, raising one eyebrow in such a familiar way that Minato thought he saw the ghost of Kushina imposed over his son. As much as Naruto resembled him, he was very much Kushina's son in his personality and behaviour. Minato smiled secretly to himself and on a whim, swiftly ruffled Naruto's hair much to Naruto's disgruntlement.

"HEY!"

Yeah, life was looking good.


	2. Chapter 2

It was already about a week since Naruto had arrived in Konoha, and had moved into Minato's home on the outskirts of Konoha near the great Red Oak forests. It had been a major understatement that Minato's house was "not too shabby". It was the practically state-of-the -art sleek, modern beauty of Japanese architecture combined with the Zen lines of Bauhaus design. Not to mention the security features and advanced technology in the whole place _(automatic lights, anyone?)_ \- Naruto was rather impressed, but it got old pretty quick after the first few days.

The new semester at the Konoha University was going to start soon and since Minato was at work again _(his father seemed to be super busy with his "mysterious job", and Naruto vowed never to work in civil service if the hours were that long!)_ , Naruto decided to check out the University campus so he wouldn't get lost on his first day of classes. After a ten minutes ride on the train, he got off and was almost blinded by the dazzling reflection of the noon sun glinting off the sleek glass walls of Konoha University. Shielding his eyes, Naruto looked upwards and muttered, "Wow, they sure build things big here in the big city. Wouldn't it get super hot in summer with all that glass trapping the heat?"

Naruto walked around the campus, noting the different faculties that were arranged around a rectangular spacious park. There weren't many people on the campus grounds. Satisfied that he now knew the layout well enough not to get lost, Naruto then decided to check out the University Library, to read up on the local news. Minato had mentioned something about a new exhibition at the National Museum, on the ancient artefacts found within Old Konoha, and Naruto was intrigued.

The library was open and there was a small study group at the tables near the magazine and newspaper section. It was made up primarily of girls, and one of whom had pink hair that made Naruto do a double-take. A girl with long black hair had pretty unusual white eyes that made him think she was blind, but the books she was poring over weren't in Braille so Naruto nixed the idea. The third girl had pale blond hair tied into a ponytail; she had a sophisticated look from the fashionable way she dressed. Naruto also observed that they were studying a variety of different subjects like law, medicine and multimedia. Were they friends?

Grabbing some newspapers from the stand, and quickly finding a quiet spot facing the doors, Naruto immediately turned to the article on "Exhibition on Ancient Konoha: New Finds!". As Naruto read on, he quickly grew bored with the article until he caught mention of a certain object that perked his interest. Hmmm… Could this be…?

Naruto hid his grin behind the newspapers. Finished reading, he put them back and quietly left the library. He was going to see the exhibition now.

* * *

"How was your day, Naruto?"

Minato asked with a smile, taking a sip from his cup of water. The two were eating dinner at home, a simple meal of stewed beef with vegetables and rice. Minato was actually a pretty decent cook. Naruto swallowed hastily and replied, "It was ok, I guess. I went to check out the University campus to get an idea of the layout and I went to see the new exhibition at the Museum. It was pretty fascinating stuff. I found the old weapons really cool."

"I'm glad you had a good time today. When's your semester starting again? Next Monday, was it? I'll give you a lift," Minato offered. Naruto shook his head, "Nah, I'll be fine. The University isn't that far, and you'll be late for your job if you tried to do that. Your office is in the other direction, isn't it? But thanks anyway, Minato."

Minato just shook his head and gave him a sly wink, "It doesn't really matter. My office won't miss me so much that I can't afford to spend a few more minutes with my son. I still have to make up for nineteen years of your life without my presence, minute by minute."

Naruto inexplicably blushed, feeling overwhelmed by Minato's charm. He exclaimed, "Don't say such silly things, Minato! If you did try to do that, I wouldn't be able to get out of your sight for the next nineteen years!"

Minato was amused by Naruto's flustered behaviour. Wanting to see how much further he could provoke his son, he teased, "I'm a bit jealous of Kushina. She got to see you during your cute baby and childhood years. As for me, I have to deal with an almost adult, and I'm a bit sad at missing out on the great opportunity to embarrass you by giving you The Talk."

Naruto turned tomato-red. He spluttered, "M-minatooooo!"

"Yes, dear?"

Minato tried to suppress his laughter but he wasn't very successful. Naruto glared at him.

"ARGH. You're so annoying!"

Naruto threw his hands up in the air, hurriedly cleared up his dishes and fled to the kitchen to get away from his really annoying father, as Minato's snorts of laughter filled the air.

_Mom, why did you never tell me that Minato could be the most annoying person ever? I've never felt so embarrassed!_

* * *

It was almost midnight. A mysterious figure nimbly scaled up the walls of the National Museum, blending easily into the shadows with its black outfit. Once on the roof, the figure kept low to the ground as it lightly stepped over the thick glass skylights until he was finally directly over the correct skylight over the exhibition room. He knelt down and took out a small test-tube of reddish powder. He cautiously removed the tube stopper and poured a thin line of powder around the edges of a pane of glass. When he was done, he snapped his gloved fingers over the trail, creating sparks that landed on the reddish powder. The reaction was immediate. For a millisecond, there was a brilliant flash of intense light and heat; the metal edges were melted through.

It took a few minutes for the metal to cool down. The figure dug his hands into the gap and heaved the pane of glass upwards. The clouds shifted and revealed the full moon. Its silvery light shone down and a brilliant blue gemstone twinkled below as if winking at the intruder. It also revealed the intruder to be a woman, as the pale light revealed generous curves beneath the tight leather. Under the white mask which had dark red curlicues defining a stylistic fox's face, full red lips curved into a smile. Attaching the thin carbon fibre rope to the nearby air-vent chimney, she slowly lowered herself down into the hall until she hung suspended over the glass container that protected the gorgeous sapphire that used to be strung on a leather necklace. Its intense blue hue was as deep as the ocean, and it was very old. Its value was inestimable and said to be enough to buy a country or two.

Very careful not to trip any of the motion sensors around the container's perimeter, she placed a circular device on the top of the container and activated it, so that it stuck fast to the slick glass. With her diamond-tipped gloved fingers, she easily cut around the pump. With an upwards twist of her arm, she removed the glass circle to create a hole big enough to allow her arm through. The thief then slowly put her arm through the hole and delicately grasped the sapphire.

She breathed and focused. Her hand seemed to glow with ethereal blue energy, and suddenly it blurred, swiftly exchanging the sapphire for the small wooden statuette of a nine-tailed fox. No alarms sounded. Good. She hadn't tripped the weight sensor and her calling card had been precisely calibrated to weigh exactly the same as the treasure she now held in her hand. Smirking victoriously, the thief tucked the sapphire snugly between her breasts under the leather suit and quickly made her exit without a single sound.

The next morning, Konoha fell into chaos as the theft of a priceless historical relic was discovered. It was also the same day Naruto's new semester commenced.

* * *

"Did you hear the latest news? Kyuubi struck just last night!"

"Who's Kyuubi?"

"She is a world-famous thief! She's famous for stealing legendary gemstones like the Sakura Ruby and the Dragon Pearl among others! And the amazing thing is that she always returns them to their owners approximately a week later. But no one knows who she is."

"Ehhh? A thief who returns the stuff she stole? Isn't that contradictory?"

"But didn't she disappear twenty years ago? It could be a fake."

"No way! She's the real thing. She left behind her calling card, the nine-tailed Kitsune statuette which is supposedly one of a kind! Kyuubi is definitely back."

"Does anyone know why Kyuubi disappeared twenty years ago?"

A murmur of No's rang out.

"Good morning, class!"

The doors slammed open, indicating the arrival of their lecturer and abruptly silencing any further discussion of Kyuubi. The first lecture of the day had just started and no one in the lecture hall noticed that one person hadn't participated in the conversation. Resting his head on his forearms, Naruto was fast asleep and his face hidden by the hood of his blue jacket. Safely unnoticed in the back of the lecture hall, Naruto peacefully dozed through the two hours lecture.

* * *

"Are you sure it's really Kyuubi and not a copycat like the rash of ones that occurred shortly after her mysterious disappearance twenty years ago?"

"Y-yes, all the results of the lab tests we have successfully completed have proven the Kyuubi statuette to be the real article. It matches the others exactly, sir."

Deep in the headquarters of LEAF, it was pandemonium as the staff rushed to fulfil their duties on the double, and for good reason. The Yellow Flash was annoyed and no one wanted to be on the receiving end of his temper. The last time the Director had become that short-tempered, that poor CLOUD spy who had received the brunt of his anger had been mercilessly and swiftly crushed. He confessed to everything, including the attempted kidnapping of Hyuuga Hinata, after spending just one hour with him in an interrogation session. Morino Ibiki, the Chief of the Interrogations department hadn't been able to break that record (yet).

Namikaze Minato frowned as he scanned through the results of the laboratory analysis of the evidence left behind at the scene. It all checked out. But there was still one last thing that hadn't been confirmed as yet, and that would be the final test to determine whether Kyuubi's case was to be reopened after twenty long years. Passing the papers back to the forensics doctor, Minato demanded, "I want to see the article with my own eyes."

"Yes sir! This way please."

Following the doctor, Minato briskly walked down the familiar hallways he used to tread frequently twenty years ago. Finally reaching his destination which was the forensics laboratory, Minato was passed latex gloves by an assistant. Nodding in thanks, Minato pulled them on and gingerly picked up the wooden statuette from the white table. It was beautifully and intricately carved, from wood that smelled of apple sap.

The nine-tailed fox looked as though it could move any second, its long nine-tails curved in a majestic arc around the slender vulpine form. As Minato examined it, the play of light and shadows on the object made it look as if it was winking at him. Minato focused a little, flaring his chakra in his fingers and waited for a response. He was quite disappointed when none came, and was about to put it back down on the table, when the statuette actually moved. The fox opened its mouth and a small slip of paper emerged. Unable to believe that the statuette had responded to his chakra, and therefore proved to be the true article, Minato shakily removed the paper slip and read it.

_"Kyuubi has not forgotten her quest. Let's have another party!"_

Minato raised an eyebrow. Shaking his head, he absently stroked the curve of the fox's head and muttered, "So Kyuubi, you've come back but you also chose the worse possible time to do it."

_I was supposed to drive Naruto to University today if you hadn't shown up. I am most annoyed._

Then Minato made his decision, possibly the most impulsive and reckless decision in his career as the Director of LEAF. He was going to re-enter the field as Agent Yellow Flash once more to personally handle the Kyuubi case like he had twenty years ago. With a slow smile, Minato placed the fox statuette back on the table and whispered, "Let's dance."

* * *

Squad Blood-Hound was quickly reassembled once Minato's orders were made known. Gathered together in one of the conference rooms, Squad Blood-Hound comprised of Nara Shikaku, Aburame Shibi, Hatake Kakashi, Inuzuka Tsume and Namikaze Minato himself. Shikaku was in charge of Tactics, which involved analysing the possible security breaches which Kyuubi might exploit, and formulating counter-strategies and traps to ensnare the wily thief. Shibi took care of surveillance and reconnaissance. Kakashi and Tsume were both the "brute force" and trackers of the team, whose job was to catch Kyuubi. Finally, Minato was the leader of the team and should Kyuubi escape Kakashi and Tsume, Minato would step in to apprehend her directly himself as the last line of defence.

"Heh, it's just like the old days, Yellow Flash. I didn't think that that fox would actually return," Tsume commented as she reclined in her seat, placing her feet on the table. Her suit jacket was unbuttoned and her dress shirt was tight around her arms, showing off her muscular physique. She was one of LEAF's experts in taijutsu, who specialised in capturing people rather than harming/killing them like Maito Guy's more destructive taijutsu. As a concession to the uniform, Tsume pulled her long shaggy hair into a messy ponytail and removed her Clan marks from her cheeks while she was on duty.

Shikaku sighed wearily, not liking the idea of having to do such hard work again. Kyuubi had been the most frustrating criminal he had ever faced, due to her sheer unpredictability and genius intelligence. The others, like "Demon of Mist" Momochi Zabuza, had been much easier to deal with. But since Minato had ordered it and he highly respected that man, Shikaku would shove aside his personal complaints and do the job. Tapping the ash off his cigarette into the ashtray before him, Shikaku took a drag and drawled in a rough voice, "Once we catch Kyuubi, I'm going to request you let me have a game of Go with her. It's been too long since I had a good challenge, and I'm tired of playing against my son all the time."

Shibi adjusted his sunglasses and straightened out his tie. Then after some thought, he lowered the sunglasses to look directly at Minato. It was a disconcerting sight to see an Aburame's eyes, for they did not possess human eyes but the multi-faceted eyes of an insect, an open secret within Konoha. Minato didn't react and waited for what Shibi had to say. Satisfied by what he saw in Minato, Shibi spoke, "The fox, like other animals, will eventually be stung by a bee."

Kakashi, for once, was actually on time. Having heard the news about Kyuubi's comeback and Minato's orders for the former members of Blood-Hound to gather, Kakashi wasted no time. This wasn't something he wanted to miss out on, having been on the former Blood-Hound squad under Minato's wing as his apprentice. While he wasn't as invested as Minato-sensei in arresting Kyuubi, Kakashi had always wanted to know Kyuubi's true identity, ever since that thief saved him from falling to his death when he got too cocky and careless as a young rookie, even if it meant risking her freedom. Kakashi closed his book and crisply said, "I will put in everything I have to ensure that Kyuubi is arrested, sensei."

Minato smiled proudly at his team. He confidently spoke, "It's a great pleasure to work with you all again. Blood-Hound, the Hunt has begun!"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

"Aww damn it, this is a bust again! Kyuubi, it would help a lot if you could remember exactly what your Hoshitama looked like or better still, who stole it from you. It would save me so much trouble. I didn't get any of the lectures today because I was too exhausted from last night's heist. I hate studying."

Naruto carefully placed the sapphire back down on the table with a frustrated sigh. A red fox was hovering in the air in front of him, languidly waving its nine tails. The Kitsune snarked, "Brat, you should be grateful that I'm allowing you to use my powers in the heists. Your mother rarely found the need to use my powers when she was Kyuubi more than twenty years ago."

"You mean gender-bending? I still think it sucks to be a woman while I'm doing the heists. WHY do I have to become a woman when I'm a guy in the first place? Why not some other, more useful powers, like super-speed or phasing through walls? Though, I have to admit that my female appearance is pretty damn hot."

The fox spirit rolled its eyes and smacked Naruto's head with one of its tails. It replied, "You know that this is to keep up appearances. It would look very strange if the Kyuubi suddenly turned out to be a man instead of a woman after all those years. We wouldn't be having this talk if you had followed tradition and was born a girl instead of being a boy like the Uzumaki line have been for centuries."

Naruto went silent at hearing the last remark. He started to clean his lock-picks and other tools of trade. Kyuubi sighed, "Look, kid, I didn't mean anything by that. Your mother loved you very much even if you weren't a girl. She loved you enough to entrust her heritage to you and had faith that you would be the one to end the Uzumaki's - and my- curse. While I disagree with her on that point, I can't deny that you remind me very much of that man…"

"Who was he?"

Naruto raised his blue eyes to look at Kyuubi, always interested to hear about Kyuubi's shrouded past. Kyuubi tilted its head and looked at him with its garnet red eyes. The fox shrugged, "I can't remember."

There was a comfortable silence as Naruto continued to maintain his tools, checking for any defects and cleaning them. He was done within an hour and he plucked up the sapphire and deposited it into an envelope.

"It's time to return the sapphire."

Standing up and stretching, Naruto grimaced as his body shrank. It became more rounded and curved like a woman's, his hips gaining a gentle swell as his chest filled out. His face too became more feminine, his cheekbones going higher and his lips becoming fuller. By the end of the transformation, a blonde woman stood in Naruto's place. Only Naruto's eyes hadn't changed, and his hair remained at the same length. When Naruto spoke, his voice sounded higher and throatier.

"Urgh, I just can't get over how weird it is to feel my body changing. Now for the final touch…"

Naruto started changing his clothes to complete his disguise. When everything was in place, there was no longer any trace of Naruto in the mousy brunette librarian. His blue eyes now brown and his blonde hair covered by the wig, Naruto also had covered up the whisker marks on his cheeks with make-up. A grin that was totally at odds with his new appearance spread across his face, "But I like this part the most! I love disguises."

"Sometimes, you're really more like a Kitsune than a human with your obsession for disguises, kid."

"Haha, what else do you expect from Uzumaki Naruto, the world's best thief?"

Naruto walked around the hideout, which used to be an abandoned apartment located near the Uchiha District, to readjust to the different gait of his new body. The place was one of the many hideouts scattered around Konoha which Kushina had created along with the other former Kyuubi incarnations. Satisfied that he was able to walk comfortably in his heels, Naruto, now known as Kimiko the librarian, emerged into the world. Kyuubi vanished from sight, withdrawing back into Naruto's mind. Kyuubi suddenly asked an odd question, _"Hey, kid, your father…do you know what he works as?"_

Since they were now in public, Naruto replied to Kyuubi in his head, _"Not really. My best guess is that he's a diplomat. Minato doesn't tell me much about his job."_

_"Huh…somehow I get the feeling that I've seen him before when I used to work with Kushina."_

Kyuubi sounded distant as it mulled over its thoughts. Naruto suggested, _"Well, my mother was dating that guy, you know. Maybe that's when you saw him."_

_"…Perhaps. Nevertheless, be careful not to reveal your hidden identity to your father. He cannot know of this."_

Naruto made a very unladylike snort that had a passer-by give the librarian a startled look. Naruto demurely blushed and excused himself politely while he replied mentally, _"I'm no fool, Kyuubi. Even if Minato's my father, I won't say a single word of it to him. My mom didn't tell him either."_

_"I kind of feel bad for him now. First it was his girlfriend and now his son, keeping such important secrets from him. Are you going to run away like your mother did?"_

_"…Kyuubi. Shut up."_

* * *

The security guard Ryou Tanaka, in charge of watching the perimeters of the crime scene was bored. He had been standing there for hours and no one had bothered to visit the museum at all today, which meant zero visitors to the exhibition. Tanaka was half of a mind to sneak off for a quick smoke when a bespectacled brunette entered the hall, looking nervous. She stood there at the entrance, looking around in confusion; Tanaka decided to see what the problem was.

"Excuse me, miss. The exhibition is closed for investigation. Are you looking for another exhibition by chance?"

"Oh, thank you very much! The Museum is just so big! I was looking for the section on the Clans of Konoha. I must have gotten the directions wrong. Is this the exhibition where that big jewel got stolen?"

"Yes, it is. The exhibition you're looking for is two more doors down this corridor."

The mousy woman gave him a brilliant smile that made her look beautiful despite her plain and modest appearance, and the unflattering spectacles she wore. She cheerfully said, "You're a great help, sir. I hope your shift ends soon. It must not be much fun to stand guard over these priceless pieces of history, when there aren't even any visitors to worry about. Have a good day."

Dazzled by the woman's smile, Tanaka stuttered, "T-thank you, miss. I'm only doing my job."

The woman waved at him before she turned around to leave the room. And as she did so, a large white envelope dropped to the floor from her bag. Tanaka picked up the envelope and chased after the woman, shouting at her to stop. But the woman didn't seem to hear him and she went into the room that she had been asking directions to. Tanaka dashed into the room and was bewildered to find her nowhere inside.

"Huh? Where did she go? What's inside the envelope anyway?"

Tanaka was bemused to see that there was no address written on the envelope and it felt heavy as though it contained something bulky within. The envelope had not been sealed shut. Tanaka peeked inside and was absolutely stunned to find that he was holding the missing sapphire!

"What the-?"

* * *

"Minato-sensei was totally pissed off when he found out that Kyuubi actually went in person to return the sapphire, even if she was in disguise. He hadn't expected her to pull such an audacious deed so soon after the heist, especially just after we had already completed our investigations of the crime scene. I, on the other hand, think that Kyuubi is nuts. She always has been."

Kakashi had given into his best friends, Obito and Rin's badgering about the Kyuubi case he was assigned to. Obito had been most insistent as he had wanted to be on Squad Blood-Hound but was not picked for it as his strengths were not suitable for the job – he was more the firearms/explosives expert and LEAF wanted Kyuubi very much alive. So he had to make do with Kakashi's stories about the case as there was no way he was going to get anything out of Minato-sensei who was so busy as the Director of LEAF outside of the case. Obito chortled, "Wow, I so wouldn't want to be in Kyuubi's shoes when Minato finally catches her. So, Kakashi, what are you guys going to do next? How are you going to catch her?"

Kakashi sipped again from his beer can to wet his parched throat and answered, "Sorry, that's classified. We can't afford to let our plans slip out to Kyuubi who has her ways of knowing."

Obito pouted, visibly disappointed not to get any more juicy information from him. Rin smiled from beside Kakashi as she changed the topic, "Hey, Obito, you don't know about Minato-sensei's kid, do you? We've already met him. Naruto really looks a lot like Minato-sensei."

"…Wait WHAT? Minato-sensei has a son? How did he get one? He's not even married! I didn't even know he dated!"

Obito fell off the couch on the other side of Kakashi with a loud crash in his utter shock. Kakashi winced and covered his ringing right ear. Whacking Obito on the head in retaliation, he replied, "Don't shout in my ear, idiot. Remember Uzumaki Kushina? That red-head lawyer, whom they called the Bloody Habanero? Apparently, Minato-sensei and she used to date before Minato became the Director. She was pregnant with his son when she disappeared, and Minato didn't know about it until a few months ago. While Uzumaki Naruto looks like Minato-sensei, his personality is all Kushina."

Obito smacked Kakashi's leg back as he climbed back onto the couch. He had a look of enlightenment on his face, "Ohhh…! Yeah, now I remember. I didn't know that Kushina was dating Minato-sensei at that time. How old is Naruto?"

Rin answered the question, "Almost twenty."

Obito whistled in amazement, "Dang. That's unbelievable. He's already an adult."

Rin leered, "Oh yeah, he's all _adult._ "

As if on cue, both Kakashi and Obito turned incredulous gazes at her.

" _Excuse me?_ " "Wha- he's _eleven years_ younger than you!"

Rin laughed at their shocked faces and explained, "No, no, no. I'm not a cradle-robber! I just accidentally saw him naked when I accompanied Minato-sensei to the hotel to meet Naruto. We both thought that he had drowned in the bath when really; he was only sleeping off the jet-lag. He got Minato-sensei with a pretty good right-hook when he was so rudely woken up. I also got a good eyeful and I have to say, Naruto's pretty easy on the eyes. Since it's so obviously clear that Naruto is Minato's son, I just have to say RAWRwhen I think of Minato-sensei."

Kakashi turned a bit green around the edges, gripping his orange favourite book for comfort.

"Rin, please don't tell me such things again in the future. I'll never be able to look Minato-sensei in the eye again without seeing those disturbing mental images you've put in my mind. How will I be able to work on the Kyuubi case now?"

Obito's reaction was much more straightforward.

" _AUUUGH MY EYES! BLEACH PLEASE!_ "

"Wusses. Can't I appreciate some good eye-candy without you guys freaking out? At least I'm not talking about Maito Guy."

" _OH MY GOD, RIN. YOU'RE SUCH AN EVIL BITCH._ "

Obito violently gagged. Kakashi slammed down the rest of his beer in the vain hopes that alcohol would wash his brain of the mind-scarring mental visual. Rin giggled cheerfully.


	3. Chapter 3

Minato sighed explosively as he stepped through the doors of his house. The Kyuubi case wasn't making much progress as the thief was not only an expert at stealing but covering her tracks as well. They hadn't been able to find the brunette woman who had dropped off the sapphire at the Museum and he just knew that the woman had been Kyuubi in disguise. When and where would Kyuubi strike again? Squad Blood-Hound was hard at work, trying to figure out the next likely targets based on the earlier files and their knowledge of Kyuubi's modus operandi.

  


One, Kyuubi went for big gemstones, the bigger the better. The security measures did not seem to exist for her. Two, she always returned the gemstones without fail, baffling many people. Three, she never killed or hurt people. Four, Kyuubi was always unpredictable, no rhyme or reason to her actions.

  


"Minato? You're back late," Naruto greeted from the living room. Minato noticed that the television was off and there were paper sheets with Naruto's writing all over them haphazardly spread on the table. Minato caught a few phrases like, "Clan History", "Feudal Law" and strangely, "Folklore and Myths". Seeing his father's curious glance at his work, Naruto explained, "Just doing some research for my essay. If you're hungry, there's still some leftover fish in the fridge."

  


"Ah, thanks, Naruto but I've already eaten. Work was quite hectic today. Anyway, what's your essay about? It looks like you're studying the history of Konoha. What relation does it have to law?"

  


Minato sat down beside Naruto on the sofa, discarding his thoughts on Kyuubi in favour of focusing on Naruto. Naruto gave him a quick smile as he answered, "I'm comparing feudal law with modern law, with focus on Clan marriage laws versus modern-day civil union laws. It's quite fascinating how much those laws were based on folklore, especially the creation of the Gods. Did you know that they actively promoted intermarriage within the family just because Izanagi and Izanami were siblings and also wife and husband? It was to keep the bloodline of the clans strong. Not very welcomed nowadays of course, with all the genetic problems incest causes. But in some old clans, they still do it among distant cousins whose DNA profiles are different enough not cause any problems in their potential offspring."

  


Minato blinked, not quite catching all of it. His mind was already too exhausted from the Kyuubi case. Naruto saw his blank look of incomprehension, and chuckled. He patted Minato's shoulder and said, "Never mind. You're clearly tired and not thinking straight. Go take a shower and sleep. I'll stay up and continue my work."

  


Minato smiled deprecatingly, knowing that his son was right. He sorely needed rest. So he stood up and leaned down to drop an affectionate kiss on his forehead, ruffling Naruto's hair before drawing away. Naruto's hair felt soft and slightly damp, indicating that his son had bathed recently. It also smelled clean and sweet like nectarine, lifting Minato's spirits. He said fondly, "Don't stay up too late yourself, Naruto."

  


Naruto looked up in startled wonder at his actions but Minato had already gone upstairs. Then, very slowly, his cheeks bloomed pink as his heart beat inexplicably fast. That… had felt very pleasant when Minato kissed him, even if it was only on his forehead. Naruto tentatively touched the spot where Minato's lips had been and smiled.

  


"Yeah, sleep well tonight, Minato."

  


* * *

  


_"That was close, Naruto. Good thing that your father didn't take a closer look at what you were actually researching. Your bullshitting was atrocious."_

  


_"…Minato looked tired and troubled. I wonder what's bothering him."_

  


_"You're not listening at all, kid."_

  


_"So? I write everything in code anyway. Even if he could read my notes, he wouldn't understand them."_

  


_"Careful, kid. Don't let your pride be your downfall. Even if he's your father, it's not wise to be so careless."_

  


_"…whatever. I trust Minato."_

  


_"It's your call, kid. Don't come crying to me when everything goes to shit all because you trusted the wrong person."_

  


_"Kyuubi. Minato is my_ _**father** _ _. Why should I not trust him? Who else can I trust other than myself and you?"_

  


_"Your mother left him without telling him that she was pregnant with you. Don't you think that's a good reason not to trust him?"_

  


_"…"_

  


_"…"_

  


_"I don't know what my mom's reasons were, but I'm not her. I would rather make my own judgements and Minato hasn't really done anything to warrant such suspicion yet. Kyuubi, just let me make my own decisions, please? I appreciate your concern."_

  


_"Fine, kid. Just be careful. I don't want you to die before you get a kid of your own."_

  


_"…You're so selfish, Kyuubi. But at least, you're honest."_

  


_"Kitsune never lie."_

  


* * *

  


Naruto was in the library again, and this time he was doing proper university work instead of his research for the Hoshitama's whereabouts. A huge tome with yellowed pages was spread wide open in front of him for reference as he frantically scribbled. Shit, he had completely forgotten that the deadline for this darned essay was this afternoon in the next hour, his secret career completely wiping that tiny fact from his mind!

  


With a flourish of his pen, Naruto signed off his name on the essay sheets and properly filled out the assignment cover to declare that he hadn't plagiarised his work. Pumping his fist in accomplishment, he grabbed the sheets, dashed to get them stapled at the printing station and ran out of the library to the Faculty of Humanities to submit the assignment. The librarians would put back the book for him anyway. Ah fuck, he was so going to be late for his next class but this assignment was worth 20% of his final grade and he didn't want to get a lousy 10% penalty just because he was a minute late in his submission! Naruto pumped his legs faster and he was so focused on reaching the office that he didn't notice someone crossing his path.

  


_*WHAM*_

  


The collision was jarring and Naruto's reflexes sprung into action. Before the ground painfully greeted his face, his hand shot out and slammed against the concrete. Pushing hard against it, Naruto neatly flipped over into a somersault back onto his feet. The other party in the collision wasn't so lucky, nor was he as skilled as Naruto. Instead, he landed on the ground clumsily on his butt and his bag went flying. Naruto winced guiltily. But he couldn't stop now so he glanced back as he ran forward and shouted an apology, "Sorry for knocking you down! I'm really in a big hurry!"

  


"Watch where you're going next time, you damn idiot! You better hope we don't meet again on the campus."

  


The pale dark-haired guy shouted back at him in a low threatening voice but Naruto was already too far away to be able to hear him.

  


* * *

  


"Sasuke, what happened to you? You've got a nasty bruise on your arm!" Haruno Sakura asked in concern, her green eyes easily picking out the purple bruise on Uchiha Sasuke's pale forearm. Sitting down beside her at the table in the classroom, Sasuke fiercely slammed down his bag on the table and replied curtly, "Some blond air-head knocked me down in his hurry. Despite his apology, he didn't even bother to help me up. I'm going to punch him if I see him again."

  


"Sasuke, you're blowing it out of proportion. Maybe, that guy really was late for something important. He did apologise to you so give him some slack, ok? Besides, I can heal that bruise for you if you like."

  


Sakura placed her hand on Sasuke's bruise and healed it with her chakra before Sasuke could stop her. Feeling woozy, Sakura put her head down on the table to rest. Sasuke said sharply, "Sakura, you didn't have to do that! You know that healing takes a lot out of you. You don't possess that much chakra!"

  


In reply, Sakura opened her eyes and held up one finger to Sasuke to shut him up. She firmly said, "Whatever. You wouldn't be able to write in this tutorial if I hadn't healed your arm. Take it from me as a med student."

  


Sasuke grudgingly yielded to the pink-haired girl, who was like his sister even if they weren't related.

  


"…Thanks."

  


"Good boy."

  


Today's tutorial would have resumed as normal if not for an orange, yellow and blue blur that burst into the room a few seconds later _(Sakura thought she heard a war-cry echoing in the distance, "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" and shuddered for an inexplicable reason)._ The blur of motion resolved itself to be a blond, blue-eyed youth, whom Sakura vaguely recalled seeing in the library a couple of weeks back. He apologised to the tutor, "Sorry for being late! I almost got lost finding this class."

  


"It's fine. You were just in time actually. What's your name?"

  


"Uzumaki Naruto."

  


"Your attendance has been noted. Please take your seat."

  


Naruto sighed in relief and he glanced around the room for an empty seat which happened to be the one beside Sakura. Naruto smiled and walked over to sit down. He greeted, "Hey, I hope you don't mind me sitting here."

  


Sakura was overwhelmed by the newcomer's grin, and those oh-so-perfect-blue eyes, and that hair that shone like gold. She swooned.

  


"Oh, not at all! You're very welcome!"

  


Sasuke was stunned at the sheer implausibility of meeting the same culprit who had knocked him down earlier in this very tutorial yet there he was, grinning like a fool. Sasuke could do nothing to prevent him from sitting at the table when Sakura had already given her consent, as he would only upset Sakura and look like a rude buffoon. Great, just great.

  


He narrowed his eyes in impotent vexation as that blond sat down beside Sakura, who was already besotted with him, that familiar moon-eyed look that had once been directed towards him when they were teenagers, crossing her face. Sasuke restrained the urge to gnash his teeth and resolutely focused on the class. If Sasuke had to look at that guy's face more than necessary, his infamous Uchiha temper was going to blow.

  


Naruto easily felt the hostile vibes coming from the sullen dark-haired pale youth sitting on the other side of the friendly pink-haired girl, aptly named "Haruno Sakura". He wondered if Sakura was the guy's girlfriend, which would explain why he was receiving the cold shoulder from his other table mate. Naruto let it slide, having more important things on his mind - like tonight's heist. He didn't need any more trouble in his barely existent social life that would exhaust his energy. It was the guy's problem, not his that Sakura's attention was elsewhere – Naruto had no interest in dating anyone. Finding the Hoshitama and breaking the curse was far more important…

  


Ack, he just missed what the tutor had said just now! Gah.

  


* * *

  


The atelier "Seirou Ohkawa" was a well-established and prestigious jewellery house that catered to the members of high society, such as the Fire Daimyo's wife. Seirou Ohkawa specialised in custom-made, high-quality, expensive jewellery commissioned by their customers, using the very best gemstones they had in their coffers or using the gemstones their customers provided as part of the design. Tonight, Seirou Ohkawa was going to receive an unexpected customer.

  


As Kyuubi once more, Naruto carefully sneaked into the Seirou Ohkawa House, which used to be the home grounds of a now extinct clan. The place was huge, measuring a few acres in size. The workshops on the premises where the jewellery was hand-crafted by the Seirou Ohkawa artisans made up half of the whole property. A smaller section near the back was used for administration purposes. Naruto ignored those, opting to head straight for the Gallery of Seirou Ohkawa near the entrance. The doors to the Gallery were protected by a bioinformatics security system, preventing access to the bonanza of gems hidden behind them.

  


Undeterred, Naruto removed his mask to reveal an unfamiliar man's face and looked into the eye-scanner. The lights on the machine turned green with a soft beep and the doors opened to a mechanical greeting, "Welcome, Mr. Ohkawa."

  


Smirking, Naruto placed the mask back on, his face returning back to normal. Kitsune shape-shifting was really useful in cases like this, though he couldn't use it for long periods of time due to the prohibitive amounts of chakra it demanded. The maximum time he could maintain a shape-shift was only a few minutes (his female form didn't count, as it was an odd quirk of the Uzumaki family curse).

  


Despite the system recognising him as "Mr. Ohkawa", CEO and owner of the Seirou Ohkawa House, the glass windows separating Naruto from the jewellery all around him, were still locked. At least the motion sensor alarms were off, eliminating one very big annoyance – Naruto really loathed having to contort his body around those irritating red laser beams.

  


He zeroed in on the main display that held a silver necklace with a large inset heart-shaped diamond, which was Seirou Ohkawa's only masterpiece that was not for sale; he then whipped out his lock-picks from his pouch and set to work, thankful that he was in his female form this time. As a woman, his fingers were more slender and nimble, aiding him greatly in picking the small lock.

  


Making short work of the lock, Naruto finally opened the glass window with a pneumatic whine of the hinges that made him cringe. Grinning to himself, Naruto reached out with his gloved fingers to pick up the necklace when a torch-light suddenly came on from behind him. A woman's voice barked, "Put your hands up where I can see them, Kyuubi!"

  


_What the…?_

  


Naruto slowly put his hands up and turned around to face a woman in a black suit with a badge on her chest that proclaimed her as a LEAF agent. She was also pointing a gun at him. Naruto mentally cursed while he chirped cheerfully, "Oh, hello! I wasn't expecting an audience."

  


The woman snarled ferociously, sounding like a fierce dog, "Shut your mouth, bitch. I haven't forgotten what you did to me twenty years ago and I'm going to pay you back in full,"

  


Her gun never wavered from Naruto. Naruto replied lightly, "Sorry, but I don't remember you. Please do tell me what I did to piss you off so much. Twenty years is, after all, a very long time indeed."

  


While the woman was distracted by Naruto's speech, Naruto steadily built up his mental focus to extend Kyuubi's chakra as extra limbs; Kyuubi easily lending chakra to its vessel as it realised that Naruto was in trouble. The woman frowned at Naruto's words, finding something off about the Kyuubi before her but unable to put her finger on it. She said, "Hey, there's something weird about…Oof!"

  


Before she could complete her sentence, Naruto smacked her aside as gently as he could into the wall with his glowing red tail, knocking her unconscious. He then quickly grabbed the necklace and high-tailed it out of the room before more people came. No sooner had he made it out of the Gallery into the hallway when he was ambushed by another LEAF agent.

  


Biting off another curse, Naruto jumped over the man's lunging tackle. Holy shit, he hadn't been expecting the LEAF agency to actually come after him so soon, right on his second heist in fact. How had LEAF known that he was going to strike here tonight…? Unless…

  


On an impulse, Naruto threw the necklace at the man's face, who batted it aside with his arm. He wasn't surprised to hear the "diamond" shatter like worthless glass. It was a fake. Naruto narrowed his eyes behind the mask, intensely annoyed that he had wasted his time and effort on a necklace that was actually bait for a trap he had unwittingly fallen into, as well as being angry with himself for failing to spot the trap. Partitioning away his emotions, Naruto focused on trying to escape from the place.

  


Avoiding a punch to his ribs, Naruto neatly side-stepped into a moonlit area of the hallway, and was incredibly shocked to find that, when he finally stepped into the moonlight, his new assailant was Hatake Kakashi. The affable and lazy, perverted man who had met him at the airport was nowhere to be seen in the intense LEAF agent in front of him. Naruto quipped, "You're so cheap. Haven't you heard the saying that diamonds are a woman's best friend? Glass won't do."

  


"I'm sorry about that, Kyuubi, but you're no lady, only a mere thief."

  


Naruto flirtatiously canted his hips and bent forward slightly to expose his cleavage; as he put his finger to his mask over where his mouth was and throatily said, with a heavy dose of Kitsune Charm, "Oh really? Would you like to find out how much of a _woman_ I am for yourself?"

  


Unprepared for the Kitsune Charm, Kakashi actually gulped, his eyes suddenly fixated on Naruto's ample breasts that strained against the tight black leather with every breath he took. Alas, that was his downfall as Naruto took advantage of his momentary slip of attention to grab his suit jacket and knee him in the groin without any shred of remorse for pulling such a dirty move on a fellow man. Instantly downed by the eye-watering agony in his nether regions, Kakashi writhed on the floor and mentally cursed Kyuubi to hell. Naruto paid little heed as he quickly fled the hallway into the courtyard. Only a few more meters to freedom!

  


* * *

  


Emerging in the moon-lit courtyard, Naruto suddenly felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck like he was being watched. His instincts blaring, Naruto threw himself to the side to narrowly avoid a tranquiliser dart that embedded itself into the wooden pillar behind him. The dart quivered in the corner of his eye and his heart was beating very rapidly for the first time tonight, as though he was going to face a serious threat. A really familiar voice above him smoothly commented, "Even after twenty years, your reflexes haven't rusted at all."

  


Naruto's eyes immediately went to the roof to where a black-suited figure was standing with a sniper's rifle over his shoulder. In the bright moonlight, he instantly recognised that man to be none other than Namikaze Minato, his father! The shock was too much and Naruto wondered if he was dreaming. But there was no time to think or speak as Minato just vanished from view. There was a blur of motion and Naruto had to spin away from Minato's hands, shocked by his father's incredible speed. He soon found himself forced to continually dodge Minato's quick attacks and he couldn't find an opportunity to strike back.

  


"I have to say that I certainly didn't miss you. I presume you are in charge of this whole operation?"

  


Minato's lips curved into a ferocious shark-like smile that made Naruto shiver. In a flicker almost too fast for Naruto to see, Minato was behind him and had twisted his arm up and behind his back while pushing his head forward and down. Naruto bit down on a pained yelp. Minato replied, "Yes, I am in charge. Now, will you kindly surrender? I would rather not prolong this further than necessary."

  


"Haven't you heard the saying, 'he who fights and runs lives to fight another day'?"

  


Naruto gritted his teeth as he forcefully wrenched free from Minato's grip, dislocating his arm in the process with an ugly pop that rang out like a gunshot. His shoulder exploded into pain and he was faintly satisfied to see Minato staring at him with a shocked expression. His useless arm dangling at his side, Naruto took out a flash-bomb and threw it at his feet, setting off an intense burst of white light that forced Minato to close his eyes lest he was blinded. While Minato was distracted, he quickly escaped, clutching his dislocated arm to his side.

  


Minato blinked the colourful spots out of his vision and frowned to see that he had let Kyuubi escape. He hadn't actually expected Kyuubi to wilfully injure herself just to get away, but he had to admire her guts and determination. Slowly dragging his hand through his hair, Minato heaved a sigh and muttered, "Blast."

  


* * *

  


Safe within his hideout, Naruto had already changed out of his costume and transformed back into his original male form. Sweating profusely, he gasped in agony as he jerked his dislocated arm back into his arm socket. Son of a bitch! That really hurt. Cradling his arm, Naruto collapsed onto the dingy couch out of exhaustion, both physical and mental. His body still trembled minutely from the left-over adrenaline, and Naruto was still struggling to comprehend the revelation that Minato was actually a LEAF agent. He miserably asked, "Kyuubi, why didn't Mom tell me that my father was a LEAF agent? Was this why she left twenty years ago?"

  


The Kitsune slowly manifested above Naruto, looking appropriately worried for its vessel. It extended one of its tails to touch his wounded shoulder to heal it in a glow of red chakra. Naruto's breathing eased as the pain ebbed away. Kyuubi finally replied, "Does it really matter now? It's all in the past and you're here now with the knowledge of your father's secret. You can only move forward."

  


Naruto slowly rotated his newly healed shoulder, relieved to feel no pain and lack of stiffness and thanked Kyuubi for healing him. Kyuubi let itself drop down on Naruto's stomach and curled up on it. It felt like a warm blanket to Naruto, who petted it absently. Kyuubi purred in satisfaction before it asked, "Are you going to stop stealing?"

  


Recalling Minato's fierce grin, Naruto now shivered with anticipation; he was burning with the desire to show him exactly why he was the world-famous thief. There was no way he was going to back down now; even if his father was going to be in his way! His pride was at stake.

  


"Nope, I'm still going to steal."

  


* * *

  


The debriefing after the failed mission was mercifully short and Minato was grateful to finally get home after what had been a very long day. While he was disappointed at not being able to catch Kyuubi, tonight's mission had finally put to rest any lingering doubts that Kyuubi was an imposter. There was no one else in the world who could manipulate the mysterious red chakra she wielded. For the umpteenth time, Minato wondered what brought her back to Konoha again after twenty years, and why she had left in the first place. What compelled her to steal? Who _was_ she? Minato still hadn't found the answers to those burning questions.

  


The house was dark and quiet when he entered, and Minato walked up the stairs to his bedroom. He stopped short at the door to Naruto's bedroom, feeling guilty for forgetting to tell his son that he wouldn't be home for dinner. The door was slightly ajar and Minato could see through the gap that Naruto was fast asleep in bed, with his back facing the door. After gazing at the prone form of the person who was fast becoming an essential part of his life, Minato very quietly closed the door and went to his bedroom.

  


Meanwhile, Naruto was wide awake, his heart beating rapidly like a frightened rabbit's. He had just barely made it back from the hideout in time, and had heard Minato's car coming into the driveway as he scrambled up the back veranda's roof to his bedroom window. He had just thrown himself under his blankets when Minato had come up the stairs and stopped at his bedroom door.

  


When he heard his bedroom door close with a soft click, he exhaled a deep sigh of relief. It was a good thing that Minato hadn't come in or it would have been very hard to explain the dirty footprints on the window sill. It was going to be rather tricky to hide his secret identity from Minato, especially when they lived together under the same roof.

  


* * *

  


"You let yourself get distracted by BOOBS? And then you got kneed in the nuts shortly afterwards? That's a new low for you, man!"

  


Obito was highly amused and not at all sympathetic with the humiliated Kakashi. Kakashi shot him a half-hearted glare but didn't deign to reply. He was still deeply embarrassed at his lapse, having not expected Kyuubi to actually flirt. Rin leaned on his shoulder and said dryly, "Have you not been laid for ages? It's rather unexpected that such an open pervert like you would be taken down so easily by just a mere flash of décolletage."

  


"…She wasn't wearing a bra! And I'm quite satisfied with my sex life, thank you."

  


Kakashi protested weakly as his cheeks slowly turned red. He did not need aspersions on his sex life from his friends. Obito raised a speculative eyebrow and hummed thoughtfully, "Wow, that'll be a great sight to see! At least, you now have a nice new image to wank off to at night."

  


"Obito. Don't make me kill you. I know at least twenty places where I can hide your corpse without anyone knowing." Kakashi deadpanned as he shot eye-daggers at Obito. Rin thoughtfully commented, "Should you really be saying that in my company…?"

  


Unfazed by Kakashi's impressive death-glare, Obito smirked and teasingly said, "Ooooor not. You've always been more of an _ass_ man anyway."

  


The insinuation of Obito's words did not slip past Kakashi's sharp intellect. Kakashi growled and very slowly turned around in his chair to face Obito. He said three words in a deadly voice, "You. Are. Dead."

  


Then he lunged at the wide-eyed Obito and they crashed to the floor in a loud mess of flying limbs, swearing in at least six different languages. Rin stared at the wrestling and cursing duo on the lounge floor for a few seconds and then very deliberately shrugged her shoulders, having many years of experience knowing that nothing could break up Kakashi and Obito's fights; save for a naked Senju Tsunade, the legendary doctor and head of her department.

  


Seeing that Obito and Kakashi hadn't finished their drinks, Rin swiped them for herself and began to drink as she cheered on her tussling friends. The only way her new entertainment for the night could be better was if they were oiled and naked. Hmmm. Now that was a good thought.

  



	4. Chapter 4

To Minato, it felt as though he had slipped twenty years back into the past. He and Squad Blood-Hound faced off against Kyuubi on a near regular basis once a fortnight. Kyuubi was striking faster and harder than before, successfully making off with her spoils all the time and Minato's team was hard-pressed to stop her. Far too often, Minato found himself fighting with Kyuubi; he had to wonder if Kyuubi was deliberately seeking him out for a fight as she usually preferred to try and avoid any confrontations.

  


"From the way you've been gunning for me, I would think that you were still sore about the foiled Seirou Ohkawa heist. You don't usually engage in combat."

  


Kyuubi twitched at Minato's comment and unleashed a rather impressive crescent kick towards his solar plexus. Minato blocked it with both hands and was rather startled to find himself driven back by the force behind the blow. Kyuubi retorted, "Why the hell should I still be sore about that? I'm just pissed off that I keep fighting you every single time; you might as well just show up on your own without your puppies."

  


"My so-called puppies aren't that weak, Kyuubi," Minato said mildly and Kyuubi sharply swore as she had to jump aside to avoid a tranquiliser dart from behind. It was Shikaku, who was supposed to be still unconscious. Knowing that she was outnumbered, Kyuubi scowled behind her mask and gave Minato the finger as she released a smoke-bomb to make her swift escape while Minato and Shikaku were overwhelmed by the acrid smoke and went into coughing fits. Shikaku complained, "Not again! I really hate those smoke-bombs of hers!"

  


* * *

  


Naruto groaned loudly in the library, attracting a few rebuking looks from fellow students who were busy studying. He couldn't focus on this damn essay. He was too exhausted from last night's bout with Minato who was a much better martial arts exponent than he expected. His mind was also too fixated on the mysterious Hoshitama - despite having racked up an impressive tally of about fifteen gemstones within half a year; he still hadn't found that damned rock! His mood rapidly went downhill until he finally couldn't take it anymore.

  


"Fuck it."

  


Naruto stood up and cleared away his things from the table, carelessly dumping them into his bag. He wanted a drink and a bowl of ramen, preferably from Ichiraku's. On the way out he bumped into Sakura, who brightened up at seeing him and smiled. She cheerfully greeted, "Hi, Naruto! I wasn't expecting to see you. Where are you going?"

  


"Oh hey, Sakura. I was just going to grab a bite at Ichiraku's."

  


Sakura mused, "Isn't it kind of early for lunch?"

  


"Haha, I'm still growing and I've had quite enough of studying for now,"Naruto replied with a faint smile, willing to indulge in small talk with the intelligent pink-haired girl, who had astounded him with the depth of her knowledge the first time they had met in that tutorial with the grouchy guy. He was mildly relieved to see that moody guy was nowhere to be seen, because the constant hostility he received from him was enough to vex even a saint. Naruto didn't even know what he might have done to warrant such resentment. It wasn't like he had stolen anything from him. Sakura smiled back at him and asked, "Mind if I come along with you? I don't have any classes for the next two hours."

  


"…Sure. But I'm not paying unless it's a date."

  


There was a flash of disappointment in her green eyes but it faded too quickly for Naruto to pick up on it. Sakura nodded, "Ok, that's not a problem."

  


* * *

  


Once again, Kyuubi and Minato clashed on the roof of a rich family's mansion. Kyuubi was gripping the glittering emerald brooch in one hand and it rather limited her ability to fight. Kyuubi was also moving sluggishly tonight because she had been careless earlier and was hit by a tranquiliser dart, thanks to Kakashi's excellent aim. It was quite amazing that she was still standing when the dosage of sedatives was enough to down a man for three days.

  


Minato took full advantage of it, forcing her backwards to the roof-access door, having learnt from his earlier mistake not to let Kyuubi reach the edge of the roof, as she would often leap off the roof in a dare-devil stunt to escape. Then he caught one of her wrists, forcing her to drop the emerald brooch and spun her around to slam her against the wall as he twisted her arm behind her back.

  


Minato was surprised to find that he was panting with exertion – Kyuubi was a much better fighter than he thought. Her stamina was inhuman, considering that she was fighting heavily drugged. He was very impressed and thought that it was a shame that she was on the wrong side of law, because she would have been an invaluable asset to LEAF with her abilities. Minato asked, "Do you surrender?"

  


Minato expected to hear a terse "Fuck you" and variations thereof from Kyuubi and another merry short duel before she fled once one of his team-mates showed up to lend assistance. It was almost funny how routine this was becoming. Kyuubi's reply was slurred but her meaning got through, "No way in hell."

  


For the first time ever, Kyuubi pulled the red chakra moves on Minato, ripping him away from her. He had seen it in action before, but it was quite another experience to be at the receiving end of it as the red chakra tail wrapped around his torso and flung him across the roof-top, stunning him.

  


Kyuubi retrieved the emerald brooch and slowly staggered to the edge of the roof to make her escape. She wobbled on her feet, visibly fighting off the effects of the tranquilisers in her system. She must have been desperate to pull such moves on him now as Kyuubi rarely used her red chakra since the Seirou Ohkawa heist. Despite his dizziness from his new concussion, Minato managed to lift up his tranquiliser gun and fire off a dart aimed at her back.

  


Despite being heavily drugged, Kyuubi's instincts were still sharp and she quickly turned but she stumbled and was not able to avoid the dart entirely. Instead of hitting her back like Minato intended, the projectile actually broke her mask. The broken pieces clattered to the floor and revealed a very familiar face that knocked the breath out of Minato in his shock, "Kushina?"

  


For a brief moment, Minato really believed that the woman before him was actually Uzumaki Kushina, so strong was the resemblance between the two. Then common sense and logic reared their heads. Kushina was already dead and besides, she wasn't blond and nor did she have blue eyes! She also looked too young; Minato estimated her to be in her late teens. He felt vaguely shamed and impressed at being bested by someone who seemed to be only half his age. From the distance, Minato could barely make out faint lines on her cheeks that reminded him of the facial marks that Naruto bore. Kyuubi scowled fiercely before wordlessly diving off the roof with the emerald brooch.

  


Minato reflexively swiftly got up and ran to the edge of the roof but like before, Kyuubi was nowhere to be seen. He stared at the ground far below him, unable to believe what he had seen. Why did Kyuubi look so much like Kushina? Why did Kyuubi still look so young despite the twenty years lapse? Just what link was there between Kushina and Kyuubi? In his immense shock, Minato couldn't think of any possible answers. Kakashi was the first to find him standing perilously close to the edge of the roof and he asked carefully, "Are you ok, sir?"

  


Rousing himself from his stupor, Minato assessed his new injuries and replied slowly, "I've got a possible concussion but otherwise, I'm uninjured. What about yourself?"

  


"I'm uninjured, sir. Shibi and Shikaku are also fine sir. But, Tsume might have sprained her ankle in her enthusiasm in pursuing Kyuubi."

  


"That's good to hear. We'll hold the debriefing tomorrow after Tsume has her ankle looked at. It's been an exhausting night."

  


"…Did something happen, sensei?"

  


Minato didn't reply to Kakashi's concerned words, instead throwing a lingering gaze at the pieces of Kyuubi's broken mask. They gleamed bone-white in the pale moonlight and he took off his suit jacket. He personally wrapped the shards in his jacket and passed the bundle of precious evidence to Kakashi with the order, "Take them to the labs for analysis. I want them to strip the shards completely of any single clue they may find."

  


"Right away, sir."

  


As Kakashi walked away with the evidence, Minato opened his palm to reveal a pilfered small piece of the mask that had a small red spiral made up of nine 'tails' on it. That symbol was strangely familiar and he wanted to find out for himself where he might have seen it before, despite breaking all protocol procedures. His team-mates would be very angry with him if they found out about this, and that Minato had hidden the fact that he had seen Kyuubi's face, so he resolved to keep it a secret. It was now personal. The memory of Kyuubi's challenging blue eyes flashed through his mind and Minato whispered to the air, "Just who are you, Kyuubi?"

  


* * *

  


The sun broke over the horizon spilling its golden rays over the city of Konoha and making its skyscrapers shine like jewels under the rosy sky. Its light also made its way through the dirty windows of an abandoned old building within Old Konoha and landed on Naruto's face. Naruto sleepily roused awake and was initially bewildered to find himself still in his female form in Kyuubi's costume and in his hideout before recalling the previous night's events. _Oh fuck!_ He had passed out like a chump in the hideout the very moment he got back as the sedatives finally overwhelmed him.

  


Minato must know everything by now, especially as he had seen his face under the mask! His suspicious absence from home was only going to cement his suspicions further. Naruto hyperventilated, pulling at his hair and forgetting to change his clothes and form. Not even the sight of the emerald brooch lying on the floor broke him out of his hysteria. Kyuubi manifested again and using its powers, it splashed Naruto with cold water to snap him out of his panic.

  


"Calm down, brat! It's not over yet unless you're dead! Besides, your cell-phone has been driving me nuts all night!"

  


True enough, Naruto's cell-phone was ringing shrilly on the table littered with the blueprints of the various places he had staked out and his scribbled notes. In his deep drug-induced sleep and panic, he had failed to notice it. Grabbing it and hastily flipping it open, Naruto almost fainted when he saw that the caller's number was his father's. Covered with cold sweat and squeezing his eyes, he dredged up his courage and opened the call.

  


_Time to face the music. I hope my skills are enough to let me escape from jail…_

  


"Naruto! Are you alright? Where are you?"

  


"…Minato, I'm fine. I'm…at a friend's place. Why are you so worried?"

  


Naruto hadn't expected Minato to be enquiring after his well-being, having expected a tirade about how disappointed and angry he was, and how he was going to be thrown into jail forever and have the key thrown into the depths of the ocean to be fed to the fish. He gripped his cell-phone tightly in disbelief at his luck. Minato didn't suspect anything yet! Over the phone, Minato's voice sighed heavily in relief before softly replying, "Thank god you're ok. You sound different… Are you having a sore throat? Do you want me to pick you up?"

  


Naruto then realised that he was still in his female form and he was still stuck in Kyuubi's costume. To change now would be rather… _uncomfortable_ , considering how tight the leather suit already was on his female form, but he couldn't afford to hang up the call _now_. Blushing with embarrassment, Naruto coughed and quickly lied, "No, I don't have a sore throat. It's just that my throat's feeling a bit dry like it usually does when I wake up. You just woke me up just now actually. There's no need to pick me up, Minato. I'll come home myself."

  


There was a brief thoughtful silence before Minato sighed and said, "…Very well. Just…next time, please inform me beforehand if you're going to spend the night out. I was so worried when you weren't at home last night."

  


Naruto heard the sincere concern in Minato's voice and it gave him a warm fuzzy feeling, knowing that Minato cared. With a smile, Naruto replied, "Got it. I'll see you in about half an hour."

  


"Ok. See you later."

  


Before Minato hung up, Naruto hastily spoke further, "…Wait. I, er, I'm really sorry about last night. I didn't mean to make you worry… Dad. I can already take care of myself so you don't have to worry so much again in the future."

  


There was a surprised silence over the phone. Then Minato spoke again in a warm and teasing tone, "Didn't I tell you to just call me Minato? But since you seem so intent on wanting me to perform my fatherly duties, I will be _very_ happy to give you The Talk about safe sex as befits my duty as your father. I do hope you weren't canoodling last night with your mysterious 'friend' without condoms."

  


Naruto palmed his face and whined, " _Minaaaaatooooooo!_ You know that I'm _not_ dating anyone right now! And _urgh_ , no, I really do not want to hear it the second time! Once was already enough!"

  


Peals of laughter sounded in his ear. When Minato finally stopped laughing, he went in for the final jab, "Oh, are you hiding in the closet then? My bad. But don't worry; I'm pretty open-minded about trifling things like that."

  


Naruto blushed a radioactive red and yelled into his cell-phone, "Go jump off a cliff, you crazy old man! I'm not GAY."

  


Minato quipped, "Bisexual, then?"

  


Naruto screamed, rather unaware in his utter annoyance at Minato that he sounded like a shrill banshee in his female form, " _AAAAAAAARRRGGH!_ THAT'S _IT._ I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU _ANYMORE_. _EVER_."

  


_Oh my god, that man can be so irritating!_

  


Watching Naruto throw his cell-phone at the couch and huff in a mixture of exertion and annoyance, Kyuubi dryly questioned, "So, I take it everything's fine?"

  


Naruto was already unzipping his leather suit when Kyuubi asked. His brows rose slowly in wonder and he replied with a bemused but happy smile, "Yeah. Everything's great!"

  


* * *

  


Minato chuckled as he closed his cell-phone and put it back in his pocket. He never knew that a man could hit such a high note before, like Naruto had just done and it was _hilarious_. He never tired of teasing Naruto since he learned that it was incredibly easy and fun to get him all worked up in the first few days of living together. You could say that it was now his new favourite hobby. Minato's amusement was slowly replaced by his relief as he smiled, glad to learn that Naruto was perfectly safe, and fine if his loud irritated screams were any indication.

  


He had been really surprised when Naruto called him "Dad". While he appreciated the fact that Naruto respected him as his father, Minato found it uncomfortable. Not only did it made him feel old but also because Minato just couldn't see Naruto as his son at all despite having lived together for half a year. Perhaps it was because they interacted more like friends, albeit really close and good friends but their relationship was nowhere near a relationship between a parent and child.

  


Besides, Naruto was already an adult when they first met – it would have been rather demeaning to treat him as though he was a child when he hadn't even been there for his formative years. It was rather ironic that Minato was experiencing the reverse of the empty-nest syndrome when other parents would rather not have their children grow up so quickly and leave. He sighed heavily, wondering if he was going through a mid-life crisis. While waiting for Naruto to return, Minato occupied himself with his favourite book, "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi".

  


* * *

  


Finally back in his true form and in comfortable casual clothes, Naruto whistled a merry tune as he walked along the winding streets of Old Konoha to the nearest bus stop. It was a good thing that today was Saturday, so he didn't have to worry about missing any classes – apparently his tutors had noticed his frequent absences and had warned him not to skip classes unless he had a valid excuse like medical reasons. While Naruto could easily forge a medical certificate from a Konoha doctor, he decided against it, not wanting to use his skills for selfish reasons. It was already bad enough that he was stealing jewels on an international scale under Minato's nose as Kyuubi.

  


Unfortunately, his good mood was soured when he almost bumped into someone whom he did not want to see – the grumpy emo guy. Schooling his face into a politely blank expression and deciding to name him Duck-butt in his head because of the way his hair looked, Naruto greeted him, "Good morning."

  


Duck-butt looked at him in a haughty manner and grunted, "Hn."

  


Suppressing the urge to throttle Duck-butt, Naruto finally couldn't take the passive-aggressive attitude he constantly received from him and snarked, "What, are you too lazy to say a proper greeting? Seriously, what's up with you? What have I done to offend you? Do kindly _enlighten_ me."

  


Duck-butt scowled at him, but refused to answer. He continued to walk past Naruto, but before he made it any further, Naruto grabbed his sleeve. Duck-butt glared at him and coldly demanded, "Let go of me _now_."

  


"No. Not until I get an answer from you. Why are you so hostile to me?"

  


Naruto's blue eyes were determined and unwavering as they met Duck-butt's black eyes. Duck-butt ripped his arm free from Naruto's grasp and sneered, "Why should I tell you when you'll forget in a matter of seconds? Your memory is obviously like a sieve."

  


Naruto was now officially confused. He yelled, "Wait, what the hell do you mean by that?"

  


Duck-butt ignored him and continued to walk away. Naruto fumed and shouted at his retreating back, "At least, you could tell me your name, you bastard!"

  


Duck-butt actually stopped and turned his head to look at him. He replied arrogantly, "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. Idiot."

  


Then he waltzed away, not leaving Naruto a chance to make a comeback. Naruto growled and shook his fist at Sasuke as he yelled, "Oh yeah well, _fuck you too_ , Uchiha Sasuke!"

  


_What an arrogant and unpleasant twat!_

  


* * *

  


Minato heard the front door loudly slam shut from his reading room. Naruto was back, and he seemed to be in a foul mood. His brows furrowing in concern, Minato put back the well-thumbed book onto the bookshelf and went downstairs to see what was causing Naruto's bad temper. He easily found Naruto in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal with a ferocious scowl on his face. Giving him a quick look-over, Minato was relieved to see that Naruto was uninjured. He sat down across his son and asked, "Did something bad happen?"

  


"…Just had a bad encounter with someone I now officially don't like."

  


"Oh, I see. Would you like to tell me about it?"

  


Naruto brought the bowl to his mouth and slurped the rest of the cereals and milk down. He then wiped away the white trail of milk from the corner of his mouth before replying thoughtfully, "…Nah. It doesn't really matter now. I would rather forget about it."

  


Minato took his answer at face-value and nodded. Then he stood up and said, "Get yourself ready for a weekend trip. I'll like to take you out somewhere special."

  


"But don't you have work today? It's still _Saturday_."

  


Minato dismissively replied, "I know. Hop to it, Naruto. It's going to be a long drive."

  


Naruto was now intrigued by what Minato had in store for him. Obeying, he quickly washed the bowl and set it on the dish rack to dry before running upstairs for his proper morning ablutions. Within ten minutes, Naruto was ready to go with a duffle-bag containing enough spare clothes for the next two days. Shifting from one foot to another, he curiously questioned, "Where are we going?"

  


Minato winked at him and bent slightly to whisper in his right ear, "It's… _a secret_."

  


Naruto furiously rubbed at his ear to get rid of the tingling sensation from the warm air that had tickled it. Blushing, he muttered, "That's not very helpful at all."

  


Minato just smiled at him.

  


"Be patient. All good things come to those who wait, Naruto. I don't want to spoil the surprise for you."

  


Slightly bemused by Minato's playful behaviour, Naruto smiled back and amiably agreed, "Ok. It better be a good surprise!"

  


* * *

  


The sky was bright and blue above them as Minato's car sped through the forest. Lying back in his seat, Naruto looked out the window at the trees speeding past in a blur of green and brown. They had already been driving for at least two hours and they didn't seem anywhere near their destination. It was monotonous and really boring. Naruto whined, "Minato, just how long is it going to take to get there? You still haven't told me where we are going."

  


_I'm starting to wonder if I should have stayed in Konoha to continue searching for the Hoshitama._

  


Currently outfitted in a white-and-black striped shirt and blue jeans that made him appear decades younger, Minato looked over his black shades at Naruto and replied with a smile, "You'll see soon enough. You'll definitely like where we are going… There! Can you see it?"

  


Naruto was awed by the view of the vast blue ocean that suddenly appeared before him as they emerged from the forests. The sun glittered on the ocean's surface and he could see an island in the distance. His attention was caught by the mega construction of a bridge that stretched between the island and the main continent. Naruto turned to Minato with an amazed expression, "We're going to that island? What is it called?"

  


Minato generously informed him, "Nami no Kuni. Kushina and I used to come here often when we dated. Thanks to its lovely beaches and great food, it's a great place for young couples to hang out even today. You might even want to bring your future girlfriend here one day. Aside from its popularity as a romantic destination, Nami no Kuni is also a very important trading centre between Hi no Kuni and Mizu no Kuni and I have some important business to take care of here. In the meantime, you can enjoy yourself for the weekend - you look like you needed a break from your studies. You've been looking so tired and stressed lately."

  


Naruto was pleasantly surprised by Minato's considerate gesture. His gesture also caused a spike of guilt in him for hiding the secret of his identity as Kyuubi from him, which had been the source of his recent fatigue. With a slightly strained smile, Naruto thanked Minato.

  


* * *

  


Their accommodations wasn't as fancy as "Fire Lotus" but in return, his room had a scenic view of the white sandy beaches and the crystal-clear blue ocean waters that Nami no Kuni was famed for. Minato's room was next door, connected to his room via a two-way door in the wall beside the study table. Naruto had an inkling that Minato had purposely booked two adjoined rooms in order to hide his true occupation from him – recognising that it was the pot calling the kettle black.

  


Either way, this arrangement was advantageous for him because it allowed him the freedom to finally hack into LEAF Agency's databases to dig up information on Namikaze Minato. Doing it in Konoha was too risky as his IP might still be traced despite his precautions. Here, in a separate country altogether, Naruto could hide his tracks more easily thanks to the international encryption codes.

  


It took a little longer than expected to crack the firewalls on the LEAF Agency's databases but in the end, he was finally through. Naruto looked at his watch and saw that he didn't have enough time to pull up the files on anything related to Kyuubi in the database before he had to leave with Minato. Sighing in annoyance, Naruto searched for any files containing the name Namikaze Minato. He was rewarded with quite a number of files, all dated within the last twenty years.

  


Naruto randomly opened one of them, skimmed through and surmised that it was one of the case files Minato had worked on. Naruto saw that in the course of twenty years, Minato had worked on at least 600 cases, which translated to a gruelling 2.5 cases a month with a 90% success ratio. The only times he had failed was when he had been hunting Kyuubi. Naruto was very impressed and he muttered, "Wow, Minato is really _that_ _good_? With that kind of track record, he shouldn't have been doing field missions anymore, like the Kyuubi-hunting, as he would have been promoted to a high position…"

  


It was easy to find Minato's position in the LEAF Agency; the hardest part had been trying to gain access into the databases. As his father's profile unfolded on his laptop screen, Naruto once again thought he was dreaming. There was no freaking way that Namikaze Minato was actually the Director of LEAF Agency, the leader of Hi no Kuni's strongest force! But the words were right there in front of him, highlighted in bold. Now he understood why Minato had kept his job a secret from him – being the son of the best secret agent in the world would paint him a very tempting target, even more so than being Kyuubi's son or being the new Kyuubi would.

  


Naruto hastily cleared away all evidence of his hacking from his laptop and made sure to hide his digital tracks as meticulously as he could. Just as he shut off his laptop, the door to Minato's room opened. Unaware of what Naruto had been doing just seconds ago, Minato smiled at him.

  


"All settled in? Let's go for lunch."

  


Naruto managed a small grin that belied his nervousness, "…Yeah. I'm really famished!"

  



	5. Chapter 5

As the sun steadily moved through the blue sky, Minato had a great time showing Naruto around the sights of Nami no Kuni and treating him to the local delicacies such as the avocado milkshake, a pale green rich concoction of ice-blended fresh avocadoes stirred with milk and brown syrup made from palm sugar. Naruto had initially been dubious about the drink's tastiness but was soon won over by its mild and refreshing sweet flavour. It was especially a boon under the hot sun in Nami no Kuni's humid climate. Naruto also loved the fresh konnyaku jelly made from local seaweed gelatine.

Minato was amused and flattered that the locals thought that they were brothers – surely, he didn't look _that_ young in his casual clothes? Naruto had also found it funny and they both played along with the locals' assumptions – not that it was particularly difficult for them to pretend. Time passed quickly and the sky was painted with lovely purple and orange hues as the red sun slowly set beneath the sea. The tall palm trees swayed in the balmy night breeze. The town of Nami no Kuni was alit with colourful lights and the air was filled with cacophony as the night-scene stirred to life.

Carrying his sandals in his hand as he walked along the beach back to their hotel, Minato turned to look at Naruto who was walking in the wet sand below the tidal line, clearly enjoying the sensation of the waves lapping at his feet. He smiled affectionately at him and asked, "Did you have a good time today?"

Naruto shot him a bright grin and spread his arms wide, "What do you think? It was the most fun I had in ages. I would love to come back here again!"

The orange-red glow of the sunset painted Naruto's hair a fiery red and for a very brief moment, Minato saw Kushina. The nostalgic illusion dissipated quickly like the fine sea-spray and he saw only Naruto, the blond blue-eyed man with Kushina's smile and heart. With a faint bittersweet smile, he answered simply, "That's good to hear. Kushina loved this place; I'm glad that you like it, too."

Naruto didn't notice Minato's sudden melancholy and cheerfully replied, "I can see why. It's very much like Uzu no Kuni."

Suddenly, Naruto yawned. Stretching his body, he drawled sleepily, "Oh wow, I feel really sleepy now. All that walking must have taken more out of me than I thought…"

"You can go ahead. I'll like to spend a bit more time enjoying the beach."

"Okay. See you tomorrow morning!"

With a cheerful wave, Naruto jogged back to the hotel, kicking up sand and sea-water in his wake. Finally alone, Minato looked outward to the setting sun that was now almost below the horizon. Then he slowly drew out the small Ziploc bag in his pocket that contained the mask piece. It was now time to get some answers. Without a look backwards, Minato walked back to town with a specific destination in mind.

  


* * *

  


The inside of the bar was dimly lit and a haze of cigarette smoke filled the air. Soft bluesy music played in the background as the customers drank and conversed in quiet low tones or in some cases, played poker. Minato paid little heed to the customers, walking briskly right to the bar counter. Bottles of expensive liquor lined the shelves behind the counter, their beautiful glass exteriors gleaming like jewels in the amber light. A buxom female bartender with sleek black hair, red lips and a smart uniform, greeted him with a smile, "Welcome, sir. What would you like to drink?"

Minato answered, "I want a 'Black Samurai' with shiso."

"I'm sorry, we're out of shiso. What else would you like with your Black Samurai?"

Minato promptly replied, "A sakura leaf."

"Yes sir. Your drink will be ready soon. In the meantime, you may wait in the V.I.P room."

The bartender bowed slightly in respect and Minato tipped her generously before entering the V.I.P room. Closing the door behind him, all sound was immediately cut off. The room was plush with luxurious sofas lined with silk and lavish cushions. There was only one other person in there – a stocky, tall man with long, unruly white hair that touched the floor as he sat. Red lines extended from his eyes down to his chin and there was a wart on the right side of his nose. Fine wrinkles at the corner of his eyes and laugh-lines around his mouth were the only indicators of his true age – he was actually past sixty years old despite looking to be in his fifties.

The man whom Minato had come to see was currently busy writing in a well-used, thick notebook and did not seem to have noticed his presence. But Minato knew better – this man had amazing awareness of his environment 24/7 and he was the one who had taught him most of his skills when he was still a rookie in LEAF, before retiring more than twenty years ago to go on a globe-trotting trip and focus on his novels - such as his favourite book, "The Tales of the Gutsy Shinobi" and the popular "Icha Icha Paradise" series, which Kakashi was very fond of.

"Hello, Jiraiya-sensei. It's been a long time since I last saw you. I wasn't sure whether you would still be in Nami no Kuni by the time I arrived. You ought to leave me an easier way of contacting you, and you should definitely change that code – it's too easy to decipher. Black Samurai with shiso? That's the reverse of 'White Ninja', which was one of your old aliases, and I'm assuming that shiso referred to the LEAF."

Jiraiya boisterously greeted Minato with a manly slap to the back, "Why, helloooo, if it isn't the Yellow Flash! What brings you here all the way from Konoha, away from your job? And, don't forget, secrets are sometimes best hidden right in the open under everyone's noses where no one expects to find them. No one would ever suspect that I, the Gallant Jiraiya, was ever here at all."

Minato had to smile at his former mentor's familiar antics. Jiraiya hadn't changed at all. Sitting down beside him, Minato placed the transparent Ziploc bag with the mask piece inside on the table. He cut straight to the point, "Do you recognise this symbol? I've had the feeling that I've seen it somewhere before… But I just can't remember where it might have been."

Jiraiya closed his notebook and set it aside in favour of examining the red symbol on the mask piece. After a few minutes, he asked Minato with a curious glance, "Where did it come from?"

"It's from Kyuubi's mask."

"…Ho ho, I see. That little Kitsune thief? But why come to me? You could have sent it in to the labs if you wanted answers faster."

Minato looked away, not willing to answer Jiraiya's question. He reiterated, "Please just tell me what this symbol is."

Jiraiya thankfully dropped the issue and he answered his former apprentice, "This symbol originates from Uzu no Kuni. Like how the Uchiha Clan symbol is a fan, this spiral is the Clan Symbol of the Uzumaki Clan of Uzu no Kuni – there are now very few people left."

Minato was rather shocked by the information, though now that Jiraiya mentioned it, he did recall seeing the same symbol on some of Naruto's clothes, and Kushina had liked wearing a hair-clip with a small spiral on it in her red hair. There was a very strong connection between Kyuubi and the Uzumaki Clan – was she also an Uzumaki like Kushina and Naruto? Minato thought it was extremely likely, given how much she looked like Kushina and the Uzumaki crest she had in her possession. Once he got back to the LEAF headquarters after the weekend holiday, he was going to request a search of all the existing Uzumaki Clan members in the world.

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei. That certainly narrows down my search. Here, I'll pay for your drinks…"

Minato smiled in pleased satisfaction, sensing his answers to be close at hand. He dropped a generous amount of money on the table and stood up. Before he left, Minato asked, "Where are you heading next?"

Jiraiya pocketed the money and grinned at him with a lecherous wink, "I'm going to see the i _mountains/i_ in Kumo no Kuni if you know what I mean. I've got a flight booked in three hours in fact."

"That's a rather short stay. I thought you would want to enjoy the local sights longer."

Jiraiya grimaced and rebuked him, "Hush! If you say it so loudly, my editors will know where I am and come after me! They're literally blood-hounds!"

Minato chuckled at his former mentor's reactions, "…Oh. You failed to meet your deadlines again, is it? No wonder Kakashi was so distraught about not getting his reserved book on time… Well, good luck then."

With that parting remark, he left the room, having completed his business with Jiraiya, who complained loudly a moment too late, "Hey, writer's block is no joke! Damn brat."

Jiraiya made a face at the door before an awesome idea struck him. A wide grin spread from ear to ear and he picked his pen to write down the beginnings of a brand new novel.

  


* * *

  


"Gotcha! Hey, Kyuubi, do you think it might be your Hoshitama?"

"It's possible."

While Minato was out, Naruto kept himself busy looking up the "Stone of Gelel" that had been mentioned in passing by one of the locals. It was a rare, beautiful green stone that seemed to glow from within. There were many local legends about how the stone miraculously healed people when they touched it.

Naruto was very excited, thinking that this just might be the very thing he had been searching for so long. The "Stone of Gelel" was kept on display in the temple dedicated to the God of the Seas. Naruto would have to find an excuse to come here again in the near future to steal it when he had properly prepared for the heist – planning and preparations took at least a week. His research finally completed, Naruto yawned sleepily and looked at his watch. It was almost midnight and Minato wasn't back yet – oh wait, that was Minato's door opening just now. What had he been doing out in town so late? Naruto was sure it was related to his secret job.

Shrugging, Naruto shoved the thoughts about Minato's job and position out of his mind as he prepared for bed. Kyuubi tapped Naruto with its tails in its customary farewell before it disappeared to rest within his mind. There was no point in worrying about it if he couldn't get a good night's sleep in preparation for tomorrow's activities. Naruto was determined to enjoy his short holiday as much as he could before he had to return to the grind.

  


* * *

  


The following day was just as lovely as the day before and Minato smiled as he watched Naruto flirt gamely with a group of schoolgirls who were charmed by his good humour. They had just visited the "Stone of Gelel" on Naruto's behest and they were now enjoying some downtime in a café near the bridge and the sea, where they could see ships in the distance. It was rather relaxing listening to the seagulls and the waves as Minato sipped his iced coffee in the shade. Naruto waved good-bye to the schoolgirls and plopped himself down beside him with a sigh of relief, "Whew! Those girls sure are energetic."

"The people here are quite friendly, aren't they?"

Naruto smiled at him and swiftly stole a sip from his drink before Minato could slap his hand away. As Minato grumbled at him and protectively drew his drink close, Naruto laughed merrily, his blue eyes twinkling in mischief. Minato was struck by how much Naruto looked like Kyuubi then, if he had a rounder face with more feminine features like longer eyelashes or full lips.

"-ato! Is there something on my face?"

Minato was embarrassed to find a hand waving in front of his face. He rarely let himself get distracted so easily. Naruto asked in concern, "Hey, are you alright? You're not coming down with heat stroke, are you? I'm not going to carry your heavy ass back to the hotel if you collapse right here and now."

"It's nothing. I was just thinking."

Minato missed the flash of anxiety and fear in Naruto's eyes as he took the opportunity to finish drinking his coffee before all the ice melted and turned it into an unpalatable watery mess. Naruto replied, "Oh, that's good to hear. Because, you see, I can't drive and it would suck to miss my classes just because you fell ill. We're going back today, right?"

Just for that cheeky remark, Minato lightly kicked Naruto's shin and Naruto punched his shoulder. They smirked at each other – stalemate. But Naruto had brought up a good point; they ought to leave soon. Before that, though, Minato needed to call up the LEAF headquarters to get them started on that search as soon as possible so that he could get some progress done on the long drive back. He took out his cell-phone and excused himself, "Sorry Naruto, I need to make an urgent call to my office… In the meantime, can you ask for and pay the bill? I'll pay you back later."

"Sure!"

  


* * *

  


Minato was puzzled by the lack of reception on his cell-phone as he stood outside the cafe. It shouldn't have happened at all as his phone was actually connected directly to the LEAF's network via its satellite. Either his phone was not working, or there was a very strong interference signal nearby. The former was more likely as Minato was not very good with gadgets unless they happened to be weapons.

Sighing in annoyance, he walked back in and heard an infernal noise. Alarmed, Minato realised that the noise was actually static coming from the television hung up on the ceiling. His ears picked up confused murmurs as one by one, the people realised that they couldn't make any calls and their televisions weren't receiving any signals. Something was very wrong indeed.

A cold chill going up his spine, Minato quickly grabbed Naruto's wrist and hurried out into the street. A loud explosion went off nearby and they were flung to the ground by the shockwave. Minato instinctively curled his body around Naruto to protect him from getting hurt as they slid painfully along the ground. Naruto's voice was shaky with shock and disbelief as he stared over his shoulder, "The bridge… It's gone!"

True to his words, the bridge had been blown to bits, huge chunks of concrete and asphalt sinking into the ocean depths as an inferno blazed on the water surface. A huge menacing battleship came into view from within the fires and smashed into the bridge ends, crushing the pitiful remnants into pieces. An oily voice echoed from the battleship's speakers, _"Bow down before the might of Gato! As of now, Nami no Kuni is under my control."_

Then, scores of armed men emerged from the ship and flooded the streets, wrecking mayhem and chaos on the once peaceful Nami no Kuni's streets. Minato cursed – an _invasion_ now of all times? Left with no way of contacting the mainland, both Minato and Naruto were now stranded in Nami no Kuni without a way of getting back. Minato growled angrily – this was not how he had planned the weekend vacation to go. Gato was definitely going _down_ one way or other as soon as possible.

"Come on, Naruto! We have to go back to the hotel as fast as we can."

Naruto nodded, pale with shock, and ran beside Minato as they avoided being seen by Gato's army. It was heart-wrenching to hear the screams of the frightened people, but Minato forced himself to move on – knowing realistically that he couldn't do anything to help right now. He needed to get Naruto to safety first.

  


* * *

  


Fortunately, the army hadn't made it as far as their hotel yet. Barging into their rooms, Minato grabbed his suitcase and unlocked the secret compartment to reveal two automatic guns. There were more weapons and ammunition stowed in the boot of his car as well. Naruto looked rather shocked to see the guns and Minato smiled wryly at him, "Well, looks like the cat's out of the bag now… You weren't supposed to know about this for your own safety but right now, it's more important to keep you _alive_ than to keep hiding my job from you."

Naruto sat down heavily on the bed as he watched Minato change into his suit. While Minato buttoned up his cuffs, Naruto asked incredulously, "Ok… so you're a secret agent. But what are you planning to do now? Surely, you can't take on all of Gato's men by yourself!"

"No, and I'm not going to. I am going to try and destroy the interference signal so I can get in touch with LEAF for reinforcements. While I'm at it, I'll see if I can get Gato too. You, on the other hand, must stay here where it's _safe._ "

Naruto didn't look happy about being told to stay put, but thankfully for Minato's peace of mind, he acquiesced. Checking that the safety was on on one of the guns, Minato passed it over to him as he said, "Use it to protect yourself just in case. You do know how to switch off the safety right? I'll see you in the evening once it's over."

"Gotcha."

Naruto gave him a strained smile as he took the gun with shaky hands. It was obvious that he was scared. Minato stepped over and hugged him tightly to press a kiss to his forehead to comfort him. He apologised, "…I'm really sorry about this vacation. I'll make it up to you someday."

Naruto hugged him back tightly for a few seconds before he pushed him away with an encouraging smile, "Go get them, Minato. Make Gato pay like hell for ruining our holiday! By the way… don't die."

"I will. Stay safe."

Then Minato was gone. Naruto's shaking stopped and he grinned, "… _Aaaand_ the Award for the Best Actor of the Year goes to…!"

Kyuubi popped into existence and asked, "What are you going to do now? Are you going to take the opportunity in the chaos to steal the Stone of Gelel?"

"No! Don't you ever stop thinking about the Hoshitama? I'm going to sabotage Gato and make sure that Minato doesn't die in his foolhardy attempt… even if he is the LEAF Director and Agent Yellow Flash."

"Oh no, you are _not_ going to infiltrate Gato's ship! You still haven't broken my curse and I'm not having you dying on me unless you have a kid somewhere I don't know of."

"Heh. Do you really think that an army can stop me and you? Come on, aren't you the almighty Kyuubi or have you really weakened so much without your little ball?"

Kyuubi growled and flared its tails wide in agitation at the insult. Naruto continued, "Besides, if I don't help Minato out, we're stuck on this island with no way of getting back to the mainland. Come on, lend me some help here."

"…Fine. I'll grant you a skill - the Kage Bunshin. It will allow you to make up to three clones that have all your skills. When one is dispelled, it will return all its memories to you. However, it will split your stamina equally among the clones so you won't last as long as usual. Use it wisely."

With that, Kyuubi disappeared and Naruto's mind was suddenly filled with the knowledge of how to perform the Kage Bunshin. Naruto smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, Kyuubi. You can be kind of awesome when you aren't being a selfish nag."

  


* * *

  


It was already evening by the time Minato got back to the bridge where Gato's ship was. Due to the explosions and damage caused by the initial wave of Gato's invasion, the layout of Nami no Kuni's town had changed drastically and forced Minato to take a longer, round-about route to reach his destination – not to mention avoiding the patrolling enemies. It was surreal just how quiet and forlorn the streets of Nami no Kuni now were, in contrast to the lively activity just mere hours ago.

From a small cul-de-sac, Minato peeked around the corner and saw that there were two guards carrying rifles at the ramp entrance. He looked up and easily spotted the tell-tale gleam of metal on the roof of a nearby building and counted at least two snipers. Fuck, how was he going to sneak in? Going by the sea was too dangerous… He was so deep in his thoughts that he almost missed a new person arriving on the scene. It was a blond woman with generous curves that were barely concealed by her skimpy outfit. What was she trying to do?

Minato couldn't hear what they were speaking about, but the lecherous expressions on the guards' faces were plain as day. Oh no, what had possessed that woman to think that she would be protected in exchange for sex? It was likely that she would be killed after they had tired of her. Minato bit his lip, hating the situation. One of the men pulled her close with little resistance, suddenly, he was down, completely out cold.

_Wait, what?_

The other man too didn't expect that to happen and he raised his rifle to shoot at the woman. Minato raised his own pistol to shoot the guard but he stopped short of pulling the trigger when the woman blurred into motion. She simply stepped within the guard's personal space and slammed her fist into his jaw, actually lifting him a few inches off the ground with the sheer force of her right upper-hook. The guard was already unconscious by the time he fell to the ground. That was… very efficient.

But why hadn't the snipers shot at all? Minato looked up again and did not see them anymore – had they already been taken out by another third party? After tying the guards tightly to a lamp post, the mysterious woman kicked the rifles into the sea and looked in his direction, "Hey you, come out. It's safe now."

Minato tensed, debating whether it was safe to step out of his hiding place – he didn't know if the woman was an ally. The woman huffed in annoyance before calling him by name, "I know you're there, Namikaze Minato! Hurry up, will you? We don't have much time."

Minato was shocked and immediately suspicious of the woman. How had she known his name? Was she an enemy spy? Making his decision, Minato stepped out of the shadows, pointing his gun at her as he harshly demanded, "Who are you?"

"I'm hurt that you don't recognise me, when we'd met so many times in the past, Mina-chan."

She winked at him and now that he was close enough to see her face clearly, Minato's eyes widened in recognition. It was Kyuubi. He slightly lowered his gun and incredulously said the first thing that came to mind, "…Kyuubi, why are you dressed like that?"

"Oh, you like my outfit? It's really easy to move in, and it shows off my hot body to boot!"

Kyuubi did a little movement that made her rather generous breasts nearly pop out of her black top that was one size too small, and Minato's brain broke a little. It was even worse considering how much Kyuubi really reminded him of Kushina with her looks and mannerisms. Blushing bright red, he shrugged off his suit jacket and tossed it at her as he hastily said, "Please cover yourself up! It's indecent for a young woman to show so much skin, even if you're a _thief_."

Kyuubi guffawed, doubling over and shaking with laughter as she gave back the jacket to Minato, "You're such a gentleman, Mina-chan! Actually, I don't need that jacket."

With a poof of smoke, Kyuubi's outfit had completely changed into the familiar leather suit that Minato was accustomed to seeing. But somehow, despite covering more skin, it only drew even more attention to her assets, much to his chagrin – her rather distracting cleavage was exposed by the scalloped cut of her collar that drew the eye. But aside from that _irrelevant_ issue, how had she changed her clothes so _fast_? Seeing Minato's bewilderment, Kyuubi smiled and cooed, "It's a secret. Come on, let's get going. I wanna give that lard-ass a kick in the nuts for _ruining_ my lovely holiday."

Not giving Minato a chance to protest, she ran up the ramp. Shaking his head at Kyuubi's sheer unpredictability, he ran after her, thinking that it was the perhaps most bizarre mission he'd ever been on and that was saying something after all those years as Jiraiya's apprentice… Dear god, he could never forget the _toads_ on that one mission. Minato remembered something and he asked, "Wait, how did you get rid of those snipers?"

She blandly replied with a straight face, "With clones, of course."

Minato simply didn't know how to take that answer. He deadpanned, "…Clones."

"Yep!"

_Right, Kyuubi was totally nutters, even more so than he'd thought._


	6. Chapter 6

The ship was huge and stank of rotting fish as the unlikely pair carefully sneaked along the dim corridors. Minato was thankful that Kyuubi was helping him - she was easily able to bypass the security systems and gain access to the forbidden areas. He resolved to thank her once everything was over, though he wouldn't drop her case. As they penetrated deeper into the ship, Minato noticed that there were oddly very few people on the ship for its size – were most of them still out on the streets?

 

Finally, the duo reached the cargo hold. There were many crates in the large room but there was still no sign of any machine that could have produced the jamming signal. Minato pried open one of the crates and found enough weapons in there to fuel a small war. He frowned as he recognised most of the weapons to be illegal. How had this man Gato slipped past the notice of Mizu no Kuni's MIST? Nami no Kuni was now paying dearly for this appalling oversight.

 

"Minato, I think you should see this…"

 

For the first time, Kyuubi called him by his name and she sounded serious. Immediately going on alert, Minato walked over to Kyuubi's position and finally had a look at what she had found. His eyes widened before he slowly grinned, "Excellent. You've found the jamming device."

 

"Great, how the heck do we destroy it?"

 

Kyuubi's question was a good one. The machine was a huge metal construction that looked sturdy enough to withstand a bomb or two, but Minato was not deterred. He grandly gestured to the crates around them, "Kyuubi, do you know what's inside those boxes?"

 

"…Ammunition, I'm guessing, from your freaky smile. Are you trying to blow us all up to high kingdom come? We happen to be in a  _SHIP_ , you know, at  _sea._ "

 

Minato smiled.

 

"Bingo."

 

"Dude. You're insane. But hell, it's not like I've got a better idea, and I do like explosions…"

 

Minato responded in an off-handed manner as he began putting the ammunition around the jamming device, "You have to be a little insane to be in my line of work… but I could also say the same about you."

 

Kyuubi conceded Minato's point, "Touché."

 

* * *

 

In a matter of minutes, they had rigged enough explosives to the jamming machine to blow it apart to atomic particles, as well as a big hole in the ship to make it sink to the bottom of the ocean. The bombs were set to go off in an hour, during which they would fulfill their second objective of finding Gato and bringing him to justice. Naruto had been very tempted to leave him on the ship to die after seeing what his men had wrought on Nami no Kuni's people while trying to catch up with Minato. But he wasn't a killer and Minato had a hardened look on his face that made him shudder at Gato's possible fate once his father got his hands on him. It would definitely not be pleasant.

 

Minato thought that it was highly likely that Gato would be in the Captain's Quarters, which were usually on the ship-deck, all the way back up from the cargo-hold. Naruto also agreed with his logic and together, they carefully retraced their steps to the ship-deck. Sticking to the shadows, they cautiously made it across the open space away from the eyes of the guards, and were finally in view of the Captain's Quarters. The door was guarded by three men with rifles. Naruto was about to sneak out there and drop a surprise attack on them when Minato pulled him back with a smile on his face, "Kyuubi, let me do the job this time. We're partners now for the time being…"

 

That smile was quite different from all the other smiles Naruto had seen Minato give. This one was rather predatory and held a hint of bloodthirstiness that made him shiver. Wondering about Minato's sanity and fearing for his life, Naruto asked, "Just how are you going to take them down without drawing attention to us?"

 

Minato smirked and it was a smirk that was full of supreme confidence. Naruto could almost see how this man, his father, was the Director of LEAF. Minato leaned in very close to whisper in his ear, "I'm not called the  _Yellow Flash_  for nothing."

 

And quite simply, he was gone. Naruto quickly looked back at where the guards were in an attempt to see where his father had gone. And then BAM, the guards were all down in a blur of motion too fast for him to see clearly – at most he could only make out a yellow blur. He gasped in awe. HOLY CRAP. Minato was totally hardcore and badass. No freaking wonder he was the Yellow Flash  _and_  the Director of LEAF. He walked over to meet Minato and looked down at the guards.

 

"You didn't kill them?"

 

"No. I just knocked them out. Kyuubi, can you unlock the door?"

 

Naruto ruefully shook his head at Minato and replied, "Yeah, I can. This lock is a simple one. Cover me while I do it, ok?"

 

At Minato's nod, Naruto whipped out his lock-picks, crouched down and began to fiddle with the lock. He could feel Minato moving to stand closer behind him, covering him protectively with his body as he kept an eye out. It was rather distracting, but Naruto managed to keep his focus on the job. Soon, which was an unacceptable too many seconds later, the door was finally unlocked and he nudged Minato behind him to inform him that he was done. Then they stepped inside the Captain's Quarters.

 

* * *

 

It was much bigger inside than the outside led them to believe; it was also quite dim. Minato could see a solitary chair ahead of them, backlit by the faint red glow of the distant fires that were wrecking Nami no Kuni. Aiming his gun at where he guessed the enemy's head would be, Minato cautiously stepped forward with Kyuubi staying behind to watch the door for any other enemies.

 

"You came here a lot faster than I expected, LEAF Agent. Did I interrupt your holiday by chance?"

 

Gato was a short and plump man with a ratty face and an unpleasant, cruel gleam in his black pig-like eyes that grated on Minato's nerves. It was obvious that this man was utterly without morals and thought that he was above the law. Minato just hated those types of people. Narrowing his eyes at Gato, he sternly ordered, "Surrender yourself."

 

"Hah, not a snowball's chance in hell. Let's see just how long a LEAF agent can last against a whole army of my men, shall we? I've heard so many stories of LEAF's exploits."

 

Gato mockingly laughed and Minato heard Kyuubi shout a warning before a warm body collided with his back, sending them sprawling to the floor. With a click, brilliant white floodlights came on and when his eyes finally adjusted to the bright lights, he sharply inhaled at the sheer number of opponents that surrounded them – so that's why the ship had been so quiet and empty. Most of the men were armed with sharp blades of various shapes and length, like long katanas, broad parangs or even the archaic kunai Minato thought he saw. Kyuubi grunted as she got to her feet with Minato's help and muttered, "Shit, I've never dealt with these kinds of numbers. You're so letting me take the next jewel unmolested for this! You know that I'll just return it anyway."

 

"It sounds rather appealing but let's discuss that afterwards, shall we?"

 

Kyuubi smirked devilishly at the men around them as she settled into an unfamiliar stance which Minato vaguely recognised to be from the martial art of Capoeira. Minato simply went for a textbook shooting posture – he still had two guns and some magazines that could last for quite a while if he aimed carefully. Right now, it was too risky to get in close combat with those bladed weapons in the way, especially with the sheer number of people – they had to thin out the crowd first. Kyuubi replied, "Hell yeah. We gotta defeat these bozos, grab Gato and get the hell outta here before the mountain of explosives down in the cargo blows in oh, 20 minutes."

 

Minato smiled faintly.

 

"We should make it snappy then."

 

Then he fired his gun at one of the nearest man's kneecaps; shattering it in a bloody spray of bone and flesh with a thunderous crack in the air. There was absolute silence for a millisecond before the unfortunate man's agonised screams spurred the rest of the enemies into action, surging forward like a tidal wave on the duo. The Captain's Quarters descended into chaos.

 

* * *

 

Naruto's heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest as he took down man after man with his fists and legs. Behind him, Minato was coolly and steadily picking off the opposition with frighteningly accurate shots to their kneecaps and hands – if he wanted, he could easily have killed them instead. Naruto realised that he was very, very lucky that Minato only used tranquiliser guns while trying to capture him in his heists.

 

Bullets were not infinite in quantity. Minato's second gun finally clicked empty and sensing an opportunity, one particularly large goon recklessly swung his parang at him. Minato reflexively blocked it with his gun, the sharp metal edge of the blade digging deep into the barrel. While the parang was still being pulled away, almost jerking his gun out of his grip, Minato turned on his heel and launched a forceful torque kick into his stomach, propelling him into the wall with the momentum.

 

Minato swiftly did another head-count. Only about five left. Luckily, it seemed that these mercenaries weren't very good at fighting and some had already fled earlier in fear – wait, Gato was trying to escape, having sneaked around them to the door. Minato shouted at Kyuubi who was closer to it, "Kyuubi! Gato's getting away!"

 

Naruto heard him; turning, he saw Gato running towards the open entrance. Quickly, he dashed forward and tackled him to the floor, sending them flying out of the door onto the ship deck. Gato was struggling a lot and shouting for help - annoyed, Naruto punched his face and broke his nose as well as knocking him out. Minato soon came out of the door, having taken down the remaining men and smiled at him, "Good job. Let's take him in."

 

Naruto smiled back at him but before Minato could handcuff Gato, a gunshot rang out. Blood sprayed onto Naruto and Gato jerked, instantly dead from the bloody bullet hole in his head. Naruto immediately scrambled off the fresh corpse, nauseous at the gory sight. Minato whipped his head in the direction of the gunshot and saw two men in suits with a red-cloud pin on their lapels.

 

He instantly recognised them from the "Bingo Book", an international data archive used by all countries as a record of all criminals – they were Hidan and Kakuzu, the notorious "Zombie Duo". Hidan was a psychopath who enjoyed killing and had even killed children but he had never been successfully caught. Kakuzu was a notorious mercenary who would kill anyone for the right price. Minato warily asked, "Why did you kill Gato? Are you behind the attack on Nami no Kuni too?"

 

Hidan laughed and holstered his gun, "Why not? He had already done his job and he's useless to us now."

 

Kakuzu glanced at his watch and commented, "We better get moving. The ship's going to blow soon. This is only the beginning, LEAF."

 

With that parting remark, there was a loud explosion and the ship violently rocked, sending both Minato and Naruto sprawling on the deck. The vessel began to sink into the ocean. Both Hidan and Kakuzu had already gone once Naruto managed to get to his feet once more. He saw them disembark from the ship into a small speed-boat and escape into the distance. Bewildered by the sudden turn of events and knowing that he was running low on chakra reserves, Naruto said hurriedly, "I don't know who the heck they are but they are bad news. Good night!"

 

With a cheeky wink, he jumped off the ship and disappeared in a burst of smoke. Minato cursed when he realised that there was no easy way out for him, unlike for Kyuubi and the mysterious duo. Casting a glance back at Gato's corpse, he quickly dived off the sinking ship into the icy waters below. The mission was finally over.

 

* * *

 

It was only a week after that disastrous vacation but it felt like years ago as Naruto reclined in the sofa on the veranda of his house, enjoying the peaceful quiet of the early morning. It had been quite a jarring experience to be in a war, albeit a rather short one thanks to Minato's quick intervention. Nami no Kuni was recovering quite quickly now thanks to the combined efforts of Hi no Kuni and Mizu no Kuni, but Naruto decided not to steal the "Stone of Gelel" while they were still recovering. It was just bad manners and poor taste.

 

Minato was also quite busy these days, his desk flooded with the influx of new reports about a new terrorist organisation named "Akatsuki" that had struck many countries and causing billions of ryou worth of damage. Now that Naruto "knew" what he worked as, Minato started to occasionally tell him interesting and funny anecdotes from his job. It was refreshing that his father was being so open with him (though of course, there were still some things Minato could not talk about, like his actual rank for instance).

 

Naruto unconsciously bit his lower lip as his thoughts turned towards his secret career as Kyuubi. Minato still didn't know that his son was she. This was a boon for Kyuubi, but as Naruto, it didn't feel good to keep hiding such a big secret from him like Kushina had, including his existence from Minato for almost twenty years. But since Minato was also the Director of LEAF, Naruto was forced to keep his silence. Maybe, one day, he would eventually tell him… whether or not he found the Hoshitama.

* * *

 

Minato was perplexed as he stood in front of the display screen that showed all the records of existing Uzumaki Clan members in the world. All of them had red hair with either green or violet eyes (Minato briefly thought of the possibility of hair dyes and coloured contacts but it seemed unnecessary and unlikely as Kyuubi already hid her face and hair under her mask)and they were either too old or young to be Kyuubi. To put it simply, the supposed Uzumaki who was supposed to be Kyuubi did not officially exist...

 

Wait, there was still one more Uzumaki. Namely his son, Uzumaki Naruto, who was a perfect fit for the criteria, except for one glaringly obvious fact. Naruto was definitely not a woman (their embarrassing first meeting came to mind when he mused on that fact)and Kyuubi's body was definitely real. He knew this through their frequent physical combat and Nami no Kuni's fiasco. Unless Naruto had a secret ability to change genders and a predilection for stealing large gemstones that he was not aware of, it was totally impossible for his son to be Kyuubi. Minato wanted to scream in frustration but settled for an annoyed huff.

 

"A dead end. Fuck."

 

But even so, Minato couldn't help but see the obvious resemblance between Naruto, Kyuubi and Kushina. What a riddle! Switching off the display screen, he leaned back in his luxurious leather seat and watched the clouds out of the windows. His eyes caught the photos of his predecessors lined up on the wall and Minato got an idea. Urgently picking up his phone and dialling a number, he called, "Hello. Is he free today? I'd like to make an appointment…"

 

* * *

 

The Sarutobi residence was a quiet, little cottage tucked in a small forest enclave in the upper class district of Konoha. The gardens were quite pleasant and Minato was treated to high quality Long-jing tea as he waited for his host to show up. He hoped that he wouldn't have to wait long - his legs were already starting to cramp in the seiza position – he'd never quite mastered the art of seiza despite being an highly trained agent. Minato valiantly persisted and tried to distract himself by looking at the abstract calligraphy scrolls that adorned the walls of the airy traditional room lined with tatami mats and sliding doors.

 

His host Sarutobi Hiruzen finally arrived, moving with the aid of a gnarled wooden walking stick. Dressed in traditional robes and wizened with age, Sarutobi's current appearance did not hint in the slightest that he had in fact, been one of the best secret agents in the world as the Professor and the Third Director of LEAF. Sarutobi was feared and remembered for his exploits in the Second and Third Secret Elemental Nations Wars, though now in present day, he preferred to pursue the esoteric arts of calligraphy, poetry and other traditional hobbies.

 

His back was erect and his eyes sharp with intelligence as he sat down in front of Minato. Sarutobi's wrinkles creased as he gave a friendly smile to his successor, "It's been a long time since I last saw you. How have you been? Is LEAF running well?"

 

"I am fine and LEAF is running as smoothly as ever. How are you?"

 

Sarutobi poured Minato and himself a cup of tea. He sipped it and sighed blissfully, "Delicious. Life is really wonderful when you take it slow and simply enjoy yourself. Minato, you should consider taking a vacation soon – you've got more frown lines than the last time I saw you."

 

Minato's eyebrows twitched in annoyance at the memory of Nami no Kuni – that had been no vacation at all. Sarutobi was teasing him again because he surely knew what had happened recently – even if he was retired, it didn't mean he had become a hermit.

 

"Sir… I would rather not go on another vacation so soon. But anyway, I need your advice regarding a case."

 

"Right to the point, Minato? This case must be giving you quite a bit of trouble."

 

Minato slid the case dossiers across the tatami mats to Sarutobi with a wry comment, "You could say that."

 

"Hmm, give me a moment to read through these…"

 

* * *

 

"Wait. You want  _me_  to go with you to the Fire Festival as your date?  _Why?_ "

 

Naruto almost dropped his bag, unable to believe his ears. Did Sakura actually just ask him to be her date for the upcoming Fire Festival, the annual celebration of Konoha's founding? He cocked his head and eyed Sakura carefully. Her green eyes were blazing with determination and her cheeks were a fetching shade of red from her exertion – Sakura had rushed all the way from her classroom to the library on the opposite end of the campus to catch Naruto and impulsively ask him out. Catching her breath, her hands braced on her knees, she proudly drew herself up to full height and replied frankly, "Because I like you. Please be my date for the Fire Festival."

 

"I… Can you give me some time to think?"

 

Naruto was completely stunned. Haruno Sakura  _liked_  him? She hadn't shown any indication that she wanted to have a romantic relationship with him. Or, had he been too dense not to notice her feelings? Lost in his thoughts, Naruto didn't notice Sakura grow agitated with every passing second as he internally fretted over his new situation. Finally, Sakura couldn't take the silence any more and she exploded, "SHANNAROOOO! Just say YES or NO, damn it!"

 

***KAPOW***

Sakura's fist swiftly buried itself in the concrete wall beside Naruto's head, much to his shock, creating a small crater. Seeing the pink-haired med student in a new light, Naruto hastily replied out of fear, "Y-yes! I'll be your date!"

 

"Great! Thank you so much, Naruto!"

 

Sakura gave him a sunny smile and she cheerfully whistled as she walked away, a skip in her gait. Pale with shock, Naruto slid down the wall as his knees gave out on him. Holy shit, what crazy strength was this girl packing? Then he smacked himself in the head and muttered to himself, "Aw shit. How am I going to steal the Fire Ruby from the Fire Temple Abbot at the Fire Festival at the same time...? Oh wait, I have Kage Bunshin! It just might still work…"

 

* * *

 

"Basically, the crux of your problem is that you can't find anyone in the records who could be this mysterious thief Kyuubi… From what you have told me, I am also convinced that Kyuubi must be an Uzumaki too. But there is no Uzumaki that fits, which means that either Kyuubi is not an Uzumaki or we simply haven't looked hard enough. Are you sure that these are all the Uzumaki Clan members that exist currently?"

 

Sarutobi stroked his beard thoughtfully as he flicked through the reports once more, seeking out any details that he might have missed. Minato hesitated before bowing his head and sheepishly replying, "There is another Uzumaki that exists. I took the liberty of withdrawing him from the list of suspects because there is no way he can be Kyuubi."

 

"…Minato, who is this  _Uzumaki_?"

 

Sarutobi's voice was stern and his eyes suddenly sharp. Minato felt like he was back in Academy despite being the Director. A flush rising in his cheeks, he looked away guiltily as he admitted, "Uzumaki Naruto. He's… my son."

 

Sarutobi looked greatly surprised.

 

"…Your son? You don't mean he's Uzumaki Kushina's child? Tell me more about him."

 

"Yes, I was unaware that Uzumaki Kushina was pregnant with Naruto when she disappeared twenty years ago. Since her untimely death last year, Naruto has been living with me. He studies law at the Konoha University."

 

Minato took out his wallet and took out a photo of himself and Naruto recently taken in Nami no Kuni. He passed it to Sarutobi, "Here… this is what he looks like."

 

Looking at Naruto's grinning face in the photo, Sarutobi smiled indulgently, "He looks just like you and Kushina. I take it he's very much like Kushina in his personality, then? I recall that she was a very fearsome D.A., so feared that she was nicknamed, 'The Bloody Habanero' by her peers. I also remember that you didn't like her at first because she kept throwing your evidence out of the window in court. It was quite amusing to see you lose your composure around her for vastly different reasons later… Ah dear me, I'm rambling again in my old age! Do forgive this old man for wandering off topic."

 

"It's fine, sir."

 

Returning the photo to Minato, Sarutobi frowned disapprovingly, "But why did you remove him from the list of suspects? Even if Naruto is your son, it still does not remove the shadow of suspicion from him despite the gender misfit. As you should know better by now, there are ways in which a man can convincingly disguise himself as a woman – did you not have to do it once as Jiraiya's apprentice?"

 

Minato winced at the embarrassing memory he had worked so hard to blot out of his mind. But he got Sarutobi's blunt point and didn't like the implications. He muttered, "But he's so young and he hasn't shown any of Kyuubi's abilities… I can't really see Naruto as Kyuubi at all."

 

Sarutobi sympathised with Minato. It was not easy for anyone to have to think of a close family member as a criminal suspect. But no one was above the law, not even the Director of LEAF.

 

"Even so, because of your position, you especially have to uphold the law. Even if your son turns out to be a criminal... you must do what is right. Isn't that what you believed in and promised, when I chose you to be my successor?"

 

Sarutobi drew on his pipe once, puffed a few smoke rings and looked at Minato with his old, wise eyes. Minato bowed his head and nodded. He solemnly replied, "I understand. Thank you for your advice, Sarutobi."

 

"Oh, it was nothing, Minato. You needed help so there you have it. But really, you should come visit this old man more often. It's not good to let friendships fall by the wayside."

 

"Sorry. I'll come to visit more often. I'll be going now..."

 

Sarutobi laughed cheerfully, "Bring your son next time! I'm pretty sure that even if Naruto might turn out to be Kyuubi, he must have his own reasons for doing so. And, have you ever considered attending the Fire Festival that's coming up soon in October...? The Fire Temple's Abbot will be attending with that famous ruby. This is your chance to prove Naruto's innocence. Either he is Kyuubi or he is not."

 

"The Fire Ruby..."

 

Minato got a determined look in his eyes and he grew excited. Before he left the room, he exclaimed, "That's it! Thank you very much, Sarutobi."

 

Once Minato had left, Sarutobi smiled and puffed his pipe contentedly, "Minato has really come a long way since his days as a rookie…"

 


	7. Chapter 7

Minato finally came home to find Naruto in the kitchen, cooking what looked like a stir-fry. Wearing hair-clips in his hair to keep it out of the way, Naruto was intent on his cooking. Minato half-smiled at the domestic sight before Sarutobi's words and his suspicions rose to his mind, instantly souring his mood. He contained a heavy sigh and was about to go off to the bathroom for a shower when Naruto noticed him with a grin.

"Hey, Minato! Try some of this and tell me what you think of it. It's a local dish from Whirlpool Country but I had to substitute some of the ingredients because they weren't available in Konoha…Geez."

Naruto held out a piece of pan-seared meat in long chopsticks with an expectant look on his face. Intrigued, Minato ate it or rather, attempted to as the food vanished into thin air. Naruto sniggered, dangling the meat tauntingly in front of his face.

"Hahaha, your face looks so hilarious! You shouldn't fall for tricks like that so easily, Mr. James Bond."

"Naruto… don't you know better than not to provoke a secret agent? You never know what he might do next…"

With a mischievous smirk, Minato quickly grabbed his arm and before Naruto knew it, he was pinned to the table with the chopsticks now in Minato's hands. Minato stuck the meat in his mouth and chewed with a thoughtful expression while still pinning Naruto to the table with his weight. Naruto tried to buck Minato off but there wasn't simply any leverage for him to take advantage of. Minato smiled and said, "The food tastes good. What's it called?"

"Get off me! You're super heavy!"

Minato played dumb, "That's a weird name for a dish…"

His cheeks turning red, Naruto slapped the table with his free hand in his agitation, "You know what I mean! Let me go or we aren't having dinner tonight.  _Seriously_."

"Ok, fine, fine."

Minato laughed and released him. He handed the chopsticks back to Naruto and cheerily announced, "I'm going to take a bath first while you finish cooking. I've got some important news to tell you later."

"Okay…"

Naruto gave him a bemused look as Minato stepped out of the kitchen. Did he drink too much coffee today at work? Shrugging, he returned to the pan again and briskly stirred the meat so it didn't burn. Meanwhile, Minato was frowning as he walked to the bathroom, wondering if Naruto really could be Kyuubi – while pinning Naruto down to the table, he had surreptitiously checked Naruto's build, and it was too broad to be Kyuubi's more slender frame even if he tried to disguise himself. But when Naruto had thrown his head back and laughed, he really resembled Kyuubi, much to his consternation. Minato was officially confused. Was Naruto really the Kyuubi or not? He simply couldn't tell at all.

 

* * *

 

 

Dinner was quick and quiet as the duo were too famished to bother with conversation. While washing the dishes and passing a cleaned plate over to Naruto to dry, Minato took the opportunity to ask him, "Hey, your birthday is coming up soon, isn't it? On the same date as the Fire Festival, 10th October?"

Wiping the plate dry and placing it on the rack, Naruto absently replied, "Yeah. I'll be expecting at least a cake from you then. Make it chocolate."

" _Everyone_  likes chocolate. But no, I'll treat to you something better. How would you like to attend an exclusive ball for the elite members of society? You could get to meet your favourite celebrities there, like Fujikaze Yukie for instance."

Naruto stopped drying the dishes and incredulously looked at him with wide eyes, "No way!"

Minato smiled.

"Yes way. I'll be attending the event myself and to be honest, I would like some company. You're welcome to bring one extra guest along, if you so wish."

"…It's not part of your job, is it? You aren't acting as an undercover bodyguard?"

Minato sighed deeply, "Yes and no. I'm going as myself. Aside from celebrities, there will also be influential government officials attending and I am required to join them, as much as I would rather not have to."

Naruto hummed thoughtfully at the information, mentally noting it and readjusting his heist plans for Minato's presence. He smiled, "Sakura will be happy then."

"Sakura? She's your date?"

Naruto sheepishly corrected him, "More like the other way round… She's a scary woman with freaky strength. Just came up to me today and punched a hole in the wall, demanding me to be her date… I couldn't say no out of fright."

Minato chuckled at Naruto's plight, which reminded him of Kushina's antics years ago.

"…I can understand that."

"What about you?"

"Nope. I'm going stag."

"Why?"

Minato rinsed his hands clean and turned off the tap before answering self-deprecatingly, "Well, after Kushina left me, I wasn't really that interested in the dating scene. It also didn't help that my job kept me quite busy. And now, it's even harder, considering what I do, and unlike you, I'm already in my forties and women aren't interested."

Naruto gave him a long, considering look before grinning, "Ehh, I don't know about that…you did attract the lion's share of the fairer sex's gazes when we were in Nami no Kuni. You should get someone to go with you!"

"Thank you for the compliment. But nope, I'm still going alone. There's simply no time to find a date, considering how busy I've been lately with the terrorists attacks and Nami no Kuni itself…"

"Hmm. Next time then."

On a whim, Naruto flicked soapy water at Minato who yelped in indignant shock, "Hey!"

Grinning, Minato retaliated by splashing water at his son and soon, the kitchen became the battlefield of an impromptu epic water fight.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Weeks zoomed past and before Naruto realised it, it was already 10th October. Dressed in a formal grey suit and pulling at his skinny black tie, Naruto whistled, impressed by the place where the ball was being held. The Konoha City Hall looked so different with the extravagant decorations from the last time he had seen it when scouting the place. It was incredible how an austere building could be perked up with a splash of colour. The heist tonight was going to be his most difficult yet, with all the people (undoubtedly, LEAF agents would be among them incognito as security detail), and especially,  _Minato_ himself.

Resplendent in a pale blue dress embroidered with white flowers, Sakura was starry-eyed as she caught sight of her favourite celebrities in the crowd. She gushed to her companion, "Wow, this is amazing! There are so many famous people here that I have to restrain myself from asking them for an autograph. How did you manage to get an invitation?"

"Yeah, how did you get in?"

A familiar voice spoke from behind Naruto and instantly raised his hackles. Oh crud, not that guy again…! Sakura gasped in happy surprise, "Sasuke! I didn't know you were attending as well. I thought you didn't like these kinds of events, even if you are an Uchiha."

Sasuke looked every inch the aristocrat with his fair skin, classical good looks and his tailored suit. He smiled slightly at Sakura and explained, "Well, I had to attend this time since my cousin Obito's too busy tonight to represent the Uchiha Clan. But why's this…" Sasuke paused briefly with a barely veiled disdainful look before continuing, "… _person_ here? He's not your date, is he?"

Before Sakura could reply, Naruto bristled at the insinuated insult and he curtly spoke, " _Nice_ to see you, Sasuke. As for your information, I was invited and yes, I'm Sakura's date for tonight."

"You were  _invited_? Was it a rich old lady who invited you?"

"Why you-!"

" _Cut it out_ , you guys!" Sakura intervened with an annoyed expression on her face. "Sasuke, don't annoy Naruto – you're going to make me angry. Naruto, are you forgetting that this is supposed to be a  _date_?"

"Sorry!"

"…Sorry."

"Hmph.  _Boys._ "

Both Sasuke and Naruto had the decency to look sheepish before shooting each other black looks once Sakura wasn't looking. Someone called Sasuke's name and he sneered slightly before walking off to mingle with the crowd. Naruto growled, displeased that Duck-Butt had to ruin his birthday. Then he mentally slapped himself for getting distracted. He had to keep an eye out for the Fire Temple Abbot who was supposed to show up as the guest of honour tonight, and he would soon make his move… Naruto glanced at Sakura before guiltily looking away – she would not be pleased to learn that she had been used as his alibi.

 

* * *

 

 

Minato restrained the urge to sigh as he half-listened to the inane conversation among the Ruling Council members. He really wished that he could let go and drink himself into a stupor so he could get through this painfully long night; unfortunately, he had to keep up appearances as well as stay on guard for any  _unwanted_  guests, so to speak. His sharp eyes scanned the room, sighting his LEAF agents scattered through out the room, disguised as the guests and ready to jump to action at the earliest sign of danger.

His mood lifted when he caught sight of Naruto waving and smiling at him from within the crowd with a pretty girl with unusual pink hair at his side. Minato tipped his head in his direction with a faint smile; at least Naruto was having a good time with his date – he desperately hoped that he wouldn't have to arrest his son at the end of the night, which was also Naruto's twentieth birthday  _(if Naruto was indeed Kyuubi…)_ With that in mind, he grasped a small package in his jacket's pocket to reassure himself that it was still there. Minato had wanted to give it to Naruto as a birthday present earlier, but his son had already left the house even before he woke, so he would have to wait until after the party.

Then there was a respectful silence as an elderly man garbed in white and red robes entered the hall. Despite his simple robes, the old man radiated utter serenity and power, the impression further enhanced by the large ruby pendant hung around his neck. The Fire Temple Abbot Tetsuya Hiroki had just arrived. Minato's attention sharpened and he pressed two fingers to the hidden microphone on his throat to activate it, whispering sub-vocally,  _"Agents, Yellow Alert. Monk has arrived."_

Deactivating the microphone, Minato watched his agents quickly move to their assigned positions around the hall and secure all the windows and doors to make sure that no one could enter. The Abbot was now on the dais, shaking hands with the Mayor of Konoha and the Fire Daimyo. Soon, he would walk over to the podium to make his annual speech and blessings for Konoha and Fire Country. In some ways, Tetsuya Hiroki was more powerful and influential than the Fire Daimyo himself, having been around for nearly a century and heading the largest Buddhist sect in all of the Elemental Nations.

Minato tapped his glass of champagne anxiously as he scanned the shadows and the faces in the crowd as Tetsuya spoke. With a quick glance, he confirmed that Naruto was still with his date and wondered if Kyuubi would show up tonight. Suddenly, despite all of LEAF's precautions, the lights went out to the audience's loud exclaims of surprise. Minato narrowed his eyes.

_So, you've finally come…Kyuubi._

* * *

 

 

Five tense minutes later, the lights flickered back on again and the people calmed, deprecative laughter punctuating the air. Sakura turned to Naruto with a relieved smile, "Oh my, that was unexpected! It would have been quite a disaster if the blackout hadn't been fixed quickly."

Naruto smiled back and cheekily asked, "Are you afraid of the dark, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and retorted, "As if. I'm not a little girl anymore."

"Oooh, does that mean that you were afraid of the dark when you were younger? Monsters under the bed and all that?"

Sakura blushed and punched Naruto's arm, "S-shut up! You're supposed to be nice to me as your date!"

Naruto laughed and ruefully rubbed his arm; Sakura sure packed a hard punch despite her petite frame. Any harder than that, it would have been quite…dangerous. Raising his hands in mock surrender, he relented, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have teased you, Sakura-chan. But anyway, can you tell me a bit more about who that old man up there is? I'm a foreigner here."

"Oh? That old man, Tetsuya Hiroki speaking?" Sakura glanced at the old monk and she launched into an educational lecture, "He's the Fire Temple Abbot. He's quite well-known and respected as the head of the largest Buddhist sect in the Elemental Countries. Apparently, he's supposedly as old or older than Konoha itself-"

_Oops. I didn't know that Sakura was such a history buff._

* * *

 

 

Minato's entire body was practically vibrating with adrenaline as he swept the hall with his sharp eyes. His instincts were practically screaming that Kyuubi was somewhere near by. But  _where?_ He glanced in the direction of his son and was relieved to see that he was still there with his date, Sakura. So, Naruto may not be Kyuubi after all…

Nevertheless, the Fire Temple Abbot was now talking again and he was getting close to the end of his speech. Minato didn't have much time left to locate Kyuubi and stop her before she stole the ruby necklace hanging around the monk's neck. Raising his fingers to the microphone, he ordered, " _Captains, report in. Are all your agents still in place? Any sign of Fox yet?"_

One by one, his squad captains reported in and it soon turned out that yes, everyone was still conscious and in their stations and no, 'Fox' aka Kyuubi had not been sighted yet. Surely, Kyuubi couldn't have sneaked past them so quickly within that five minute window? No ordinary thief could have done that, not when the entire place was crawling with LEAF agents and under heavy surveillance.

_But Kyuubi is no ordinary thief! If anyone can do the impossible, it's her. She would happily do it with a cheeky grin and great pleasure, repeatedly much to my great annoyance._

Minato rubbed his forehead and sighed, feeling the beginnings of a tension headache form. Kyuubi would be the death of him one day.

 

* * *

 

 

The Fire Temple Abbot finally wrapped up the speech with a blessing, "May the Will of Fire continue to burn brightly."

_Kyuubi hadn't appeared at all…_

As the audience applauded politely, Hiroki slowly walked away from the podium to join the Konoha Mayor and the Fire Daimyo at the VIP table. As the Director of LEAF, Minato also had the right to sit with them though he rarely used it, finding the political obligations of his position rather tiresome – that was more Sarutobi's forte. But tonight, he was going to stay close to the Abbot to personally make sure that Kyuubi didn't succeed this time. He had even made sure that his seat was beside the Abbot's.

Tetsuya turned to him as soon as he sat down and smiled, "Hello, Namikaze-san. Finally decided to join the old crowd? You don't have to force yourself, you know."

Minato chuckled and replied, "Don't worry about me, sir. It's still a lot better than having to listen to sycophantic conversation and gossip. It gets quite tiresome after a while."

Tetsuya laughed quietly, his wrinkles creasing in his face. He said, "What an honest man you are."

"I try." Minato self-effaced, amazed by how at ease he now felt just by chatting with Tetsuya. Although it was the first time that he had actually conversed with the old man, Tetsuya had a gentle and kind demeanour that was quite remniscent of Sarutobi. It was little wonder that his predecessor and the Abbot were close friends.

 

* * *

 

 

Half way through dinner, the Abbot stood up and excused himself with a humourous parting, "It's time to pay my respects to nature, ladies and gentlemen."

Knowing that the Abbot would be vulnerable on his own, especially with Kyuubi on the prowl, Minato quickly got up and said, "I'll escort you. You've had quite a bit of drink."

"Oh thank you. You're quite the proper gentleman, aren't you?", the Abbot replied as he placed his hand on Minato's shoulder for support. Minato thinly smiled and escorted him out of the ballroom after sparing a glance at Naruto who was still engrossed with Sakura.

 

* * *

 

 

The hallway was empty as they slowly walked to the men's toilet, the Abbot's cane tapping muffled by the carpeted floor. In the corner of his eye, the famous Fire Ruby was swinging like a small pendulum from Tetsuya's neck.

"You came with me for another purpose, didn't you?", Tetsuya suddenly said out of the blue. Minato refrained from stiffening in surprise at the Abbot's insightful comment. After a moment of silence, he reluctantly replied, "…Yes. I'm sorry for lying to you but-"

"Is someone trying to kill me? I wouldn't be surprised."

"Huh? Oh no, no one's trying to kill you! I would know if that was the case!" Minato shook his head and explained, "There's a notorious thief Kyuubi who loves to steal big jewels. She's after the Fire Ruby around your neck and I'm trying to stop her."

"…Kyuubi, is it? The one who leaves behind nine-tailed Kitsune statues?" At Minato's nod, Tetsuya stopped walking and let go of his shoulder. He thoughtfully said, "You know, Kitsune are real creatures. They exist."

"…"

At Minato's quizzical look, Tetsuya snorted, "Never mind. You don't have to believe me. But at the very least, do you know what Kitsune are known for?"

"They are fox spirits, which can be either  _zenko_  or  _yako._  They are well-known for their shapeshifting and illusions…" Minato replied, not quite sure what the Abbot was getting at. The niggling suspicion that Kyuubi was near by flared to life once more.

… _You're quite the proper gentleman, aren't you?..._

… _You're such a gentleman, Mina-chan!..._

The realisation hit him like lightning. With wide eyes, Minato faced the Abbot and whispered, " _It's you…?"_

The Abbot stood up straight and an uncharacteristic smirk crossed his face. Reaching up to his face, he gripped his skin and ripped it off to reveal a familiar woman's face. As Kyuubi removed the net binding her blonde hair, she cooed, "Surprised?"

 

* * *

 

 

Minato immediately aimed his tranquiliser gun at Kyuubi, his mind racing furiously as he tried to figure out how the  _hell_  she had managed to infiltrate the ball and even going so far to masquerade as the Abbot himself! He mentally kicked himself for not noticing that she had literally been next to him all the while. But wait, if Kyuubi was here, then…

"Where is the real Abbot? What have you done with him?" Minato's voice was icy as he glared fiercely at the imposter. Stealing was one thing but this was going too far. Kyuubi immediately put up her hands and answered, "Whoa, cool down! He's perfectly safe. Do you take me for the kind of person to abuse the elderly?"

"Where. Is. He?"

Kyuubi met his glare unflinchingly for a long moment before she finally huffed and said, "He's happily sound asleep in his bedroom in the Fire Temple. He was  _never_ here – I simply took the liberty of rearranging his schedule while moonlighting there as his secretary. In fact, he would probably be quite happy not to attend this boring-ass event! You happy now?"

Although Kyuubi had plenty of motive to lie to him, Minato somehow knew that she was actually telling the truth. His anger lessened. There was only one thing left to do. He let out a deep breath and then he fired his gun.

 

* * *

 

 

Kyuubi gracefully dodged the dart with a grin on her face. Backflipping backwards onto the railing as Minato rushed towards her, she immediately pulled her disguise off to reveal her leather outfit and threw the robes at him, forcing him to slow down. She laughed, "Wow, that look on your face! You should have seen yourself!"

Minato swatted the robes aside and ruefully said, "I can imagine. I say once again, you're completely  _mad_."

Kyuubi giggled girlishly and winked at him, "But that's also why I'm so  _good,_ yes? I'm the number one unpredictable thief, after all!"

Minato then did the unexpected. He put back his gun in his holster and said, "I'm letting you go just this  _once_."

Kyuubi almost fell off the railing in shock. Bending over to peer Minato in the eye and placing her gloved hand on his forehead in concern, she asked, "Are you  _sick_?"

"No. I'm repaying back the favour from Nami no Kuni. You did say that you would return the jewel right?" Minato replied factually. Kyuubi stood up again and tilted her head to give him a thoughtful look. She finally said, "You're also  _mad_  yourself. You're actually going to trust me, a  _thief_?"

Minato only gave a slow and suave smile as he readjusted his tie, "And you're going to trust me, an  _agent_?"

Kyuubi's expression was hilarious. Her mouth and eyes were wide open in shock at seeing him acting so roguishly. And it felt  _good_  like when he teased Naruto. Kyuubi finally regained her composure and left with a parting remark, "I won't return the Fire Ruby, just you wait!"

 

* * *

 

 

Returning to the ballroom, he covered up the real reason behind the Abbot's absence and the fact that it had been Kyuubi all along by pretending that Tetsuya Hiroki had decided to go home early. Finishing his dinner, he excused himself from the table and went to find his son, wanting to give him his birthday present now that the 'main event' was over. Thanks to Sakura's conspicuous pink hair, he easily found her and Naruto in the crowd near the main doors. Sakura saw him coming and grew wide-eyed as she recognised him.

"Please excuse me, Haruno-san. I need to talk with Naruto for a minute." Minato politely asked. Sakura could only nod, amazed that she was actually meeting one of Konoha's government officials in person. He looked younger than she thought! And really handsome too. Hearing his voice, Naruto turned around to face him and greeted him, "Hey, Minato. What do you want?"

"Let's go somewhere more private." Naruto looked puzzled but he didn't argue. Excusing himself to Sakura, he followed Minato outside of the ballroom to a quiet alcove.

"Happy Birthday, Naruto. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you the first 19 birthdays but well, here's your first birthday present from me." Minato smiled warmly as he tossed the small box to Naruto. His son easily caught it and examined the black box curiously. Minato encouraged him, "Go on, you can open it."

Naruto obeyed and opened the box to reveal a silver ring with a brilliant green emerald embedded in it. He made a face, "Uuhhh...don't you think it's a bit  _gay_  to give me a flashy ring like this?"

Minato snorted and lightly swatted Naruto's head for his cheek, "Hey, now, it's not just any ring. It's a family heirloom. That ring used to belong to my mother and it was her engagement ring. I was going to give it to Kushina but obviously, I didn't get the chance to. So, this is yours now. You can give it to your future wife...or even your future husband."

"...I was going to thank you but you  _just_  had to ruin the moment." Naruto scowled at Minato who gave him a false innocent look. Closing the box and keeping it safely in his pocket, Naruto put aside his wounded pride and stepped forward to give Minato a hug, "Thanks...Dad. It was the best birthday ever."

Pleasantly surprised, Minato returned the hug and ruffled his son's hair affectionately, "No need to thank me."

_Kushina, I still don't know why you left twenty years ago and why you hid Naruto from me all these years...but, thank you for giving me a son._

* * *

 

 

The next day, an unmarked envelope was on Minato's desk. It contained the Fire Ruby and a simple note that read, " _Thank you."_


End file.
